Labour have comfortably retained Knowsley, but the real story is the surge in support for Reform UK, which came second.

Labour's Anneliese Midgley won with 24,243 votes, although her vote share was down from 79.6% in 2019 to 67.3%.

Alexander Hitchmough of Reform racked up 5,924 votes, an 11.3% swing from Labour.

The Conservative candidate, Sherrie McDaid, was a distant third with 1,496 votes, a swing away from the Tories of just under 5%.

Claire Hamilton
Political Reporter, BBC Merseyside

The Conservative candidate in Southport says he expects to come a “respectable second” in the seat he has held since 2017.

Damien Moore, who was the only Conservative MP in Merseyside before the election was called, said “we fought a decent local campaign” but that his party has not been “robust” enough to offer voters reassurances on illegal migration or “do enough, quick enough”.

He said many of those who voted for him in the past said "liked me personally – but they think the real main plank was the lack of leadership on the issue of illegal immigration”.

He added that he had “won against the odds” twice before, being the only Conservative MP on Merseyside, but that tonight the “odds were not in his favour”.

Turnout will be a concern for the incoming government, and across Merseyside the number of eligible voters making the trip to their respective polling stations is significantly down compared to election day in 2019.

In St Helens South and Whiston turnout was 53.3%, down from 63.6% when Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn went head to head.

In Liverpool Riverside, predicted to be among the safest Labour seats in the country, turnout was 45.6%, down from 66% in 2019.

Liverpool Walton tells a similar story, with 53.4% down from 65.4%, while Liverpool Wavertree has seen turnout drop to 56.7% from 68.58% in 2019.

Across the water in Wirral, Birkenhead has seen turnout fall to 55.4% from 66% in 2019, with Wirral West at 68.3% compared to 77.3% last time around.

Claire Hamilton
Reporter, BBC Radio Merseyside

We’ve had the figure for the turnout in Southport - it’s 61.3%.

This is down on 2019 when turn out was 68%.

Phillip Munns
BBC Liverpool

Good evening here from Bidston Tennis Centre, where else to hold a General Election Count while Wimbledon is on?

It’s advantage Labour in the three constituencies being counted here tonight as they hold all three seats from 2019.

But never mind new balls please, it’ll be new MPs for two out of the three seats.

Margaret Greenwood is retiring, if you like, from her seat in Wirral West which she’s held since 2015.

And this was a Conservative seat before then so maybe this one deserves to be counted on centre court.

Due to boundary changes, the old Wirral South seat has now gone which means Alison McGovern had to challenge Mick Whitley to contest the Birkenhead seat for Labour.

He was the serving MP - but it's serve broken.

That leaves Wallasey as the only seat here that could have the same person in it at the end of the night, with Angela Eagle the reigning champ there.

What about wildcards?

The Greens did well in Birkenhead in the last local elections so are looking to move up the rankings.

And some predictions show that Reform UK could come second in Wallasey.

So now we know the top seeds and challengers, it's time to sit back and wait. Now, who’s got the strawberries and cream?

Claire Hamilton
Reporter, BBC Radio Mersesyide

There’s been a spectacular sunset over Southport tonight – and with polls predicting the sun setting on the Conservative government, the Labour candidate in this constituency might be feeling quietly confident.

If he does win, Patrick Hurley will be the first Labour MP to represent the resort in the House of Commons since the seat was created in the 1880s.

During that time it’s flip-flopped between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.

Southport’s an anomaly in the Liverpool City Region – it’s the only seat not held by Labour.

Now, I’m getting flashbacks to school PE lessons because the counting tonight is taking place in a huge sports hall. It’s got basketball hoops high on the wall, it’s painted pale green.

We are Splashworld – Southport’s famous leisure centre. The smell of chlorine is in the air, and we are told to expect a result here between 02:30-03:30 BST.

Simon Moffatt
Reporter, BBC Radio Merseyside

It is all smiles for Labour supporters at the St Helens counts following the release of the exit poll that predicts a landslide victory for Sir Keir Starmer’s party.

Labour should hold St Helens South and Whiston and the St Helens North seats comfortably but will Reform UK grab second spot from the Conservatives in both?

Early indications are that turnout may be up on the 62% who voted at the last general election in 2019.

We think the results will be in at about 04:00 BST.

All across our region, teams of officials are transporting ballot boxes to an assortment of leisure centres, town halls and other counting venues.

The first boxes have arrived in Ellesmere Port.

Counting has started for the Liverpool Wavertree constituency.

Labour is forecast to win 410 seats, with the Conservatives on 131.

You can keep up to date with the national picture here.

Welcome to our general election night results coverage for Merseyside and western Cheshire.

BBC Radio Merseyside has reporters at the counts and you can follow all the election developments as they happen here on the BBC News website and app.

You can find out more about how to follow the election on the BBC here.

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