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Five general election takeaways in the East of England

By Andrew Sinclair, BBC Political Editor, East of England
Getty Images Reform UK leader Nigel Farage celebrates winning the Clacton seat in the general electionGetty Images
Nigel Farage's victory in Clacton was one of three for Reform UK in the East of England

The political landscape in the East of England has changed dramatically after the general election. Here are five main points to take from the 2024 results.

1. We are no longer a very Conservative region

Labour candidate Pam Cox wins in Colchester
Labour's Pam Cox was elected as the MP for Colchester, Essex

For years the political map of the East of England has been a sea of blue with all the other parties struggling to win seats.

Now the map is multicoloured.

Labour has never had so many seats in the region (31), neither have the Liberal Democrats (seven).

We also have three Reform UK MPs and a Green.

It is also worth noting that the Conservative share of the vote has almost halved.

2. Reform UK made the biggest impact

Nigel Farage
After seven failed attempts the Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has won a place in Parliament

Reform UK did not just win seats in South Basildon and East Thurrock, Clacton and Great Yarmouth, it also polled thousands of votes, taking many away from the Conservatives and making it much easier for opposition parties to win.

In many seats the number of votes cast for Reform UK exceeded the difference between the Conservatives and the winning party.

If the Conservatives are to recover from this defeat they will have to come to an accommodation with this new insurgent party.

3. The East of England is now a region of marginal seats

In some places the winning majority was under a thousand, in others it was just a few thousand, a sign of how close this election was.

In Basildon and Billericay, Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden held his seat with a majority of just 20.

4. Former PM will be held partly responsible for Conservative losses

PA Media Liz TrussPA Media
Liz Truss lost her seat in South West Norfolk to Labour

All the parties tell me that Liz Truss's infamous mini-budget in September 2022 kept coming up in conversations on the doorsteps.

Many voters were angry and blamed the former prime minister for rising mortgage rates and the cost of living.

Ms Truss, who lost her South West Norfolk seat to Labour, believed that her policies were not to blame and would have worked had she been supported by her MPs.

But opinion polls show a big drop in Conservative support around the budget which the party never recovered from.

Some Conservatives are telling me that in the inquest which will follow this election she will be held partially responsible.

5. No-one wants another election for a long time

Getty Images Polling station signGetty Images
The general election turnout was just over 60%

The atmosphere on the doorsteps has been variously described as "toxic", "ugly" and "a battleground".

Public trust in all politicians is at an all-time low, which may explain why we had a turnout of just over 60%.

Normally in a general election it is about 10% higher.

In Luton South and South Bedfordshire it was just 49.9%. Our new MPs will have to work hard to restore trust.

BBC

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