AS IT HAPPENED: General Election results in Maidenhead, Slough and Windsor

the reporting team

10:13PM, Thursday 04 July 2024

LIVE: General Election results in Maidenhead, Slough and Windsor

Good evening, and welcome to our live coverage of the General Election counts for Maidenhead, Slough and Windsor.

We'll be providing updates throughout the night before the all-important results are announced in the early hours of Friday morning.

Your reporting team tonight is made up of Adrian Williams, Anaka Nair, Jade Kidd and Sam Leech, with photography provided by Ian Longthorne and Nick Parford.

7.20am: 

OK, we're moving out now, to go and get some well-earned sleep. Thank you for joining us for what has turned out to be an epic journey through the night, and we hope you enjoyed it.

Good morning and goodnight.

7.16am:

Julian Tisi, the Lib Dem hopeful to Windsor, has spoken of his feelings.

7.10am: 

And here is the successful Conservative MP for Windsor.

7.06am:

More scenes of jubilation from the Lib Dems.

7.02am:

We are still processing some pictures from the results.

7.00am:

And with that, everything appears to be winding down - they are close to getting all the counting tables safely packed away, and the count room is nearly empty.

6.58am:

The Lib Dems have been quick to congratulate their man.

6.56am:

New Maidenhead MP Joshua Reynolds expressed his pleasure at being the new MP for Maidenhead, saying it is 'a place I've always been proud to call home.'

"People right across Maidenhead are fed up with being taken for granted," he said, detailing the list of concerns over pollution of waterways, declining public services, the cost of living crisis, and the NHS care crisis.

6.53am:

New Windsor MP Jack Rankin complimented his fellow hopefuls for their 'campaigns of civility' and thanked his wife in particular for her support, saying that, "Politics is tough on families, and I'm grateful for her support."

He acknowledged the national picture for the Conservatives alongside his win.

Mr Rankin said: "It's clear the Conservatives have lost the support of millions of people - and let's be clear, that's our fault. The electorate is always right."

He decried the party losing some of its core values and said it has forgotten the 'intergenerational contract, which has turned young people off the party.

6.49am:

In Windsor, there were 45,419 votes cast and 173 votes rejected. Voter turnout was 61.93 per cent.

In Maidenhead, 50,845 votes were cast, 516 were rejected and the turnout was 67.18 per cent.

6.44am:

Maidenhead: It's a Lib Dem win - Joshua Reynolds takes the seat.

Jo Smith (Lab): 5,766

George Wright (Ind): 791

Joshua Reynolds (Lib Dem): 21,895

Qazi Yasir Irshad (Ind): 431

Tim Burt (SDP): 518

Andrew Cooney (Green): 1,996

Tania Mathias (Con): 18,932

6.41am:

Results are finally in!

Windsor: Jack Rankin has won.

Pavitar Kaur Mann (Lab): 10,026

Julian Tisi (Lib Dems): 9,539

David Buckley (Ind): 1,629

Michael Boyle (Green): 2,288

Jack Rankin (Con): 16,483

Simran Kaur Dhillon (Workers Party): 621

Harl Grewal (Reform): 4,660

6.06am:

Don't count your chickens, Ian.

5.57am:

Here are some pictures from Slough's count, taken throughout the night - the highs and lows.

5.53am:

If anything is posted here that simply does not make sense, please be aware we are on the brink of sanity. Thank you for your kind understanding.

5.45am: 

There's news from Wokingham - the Lib Dems have gained the constituency, meaning Twyford and Wargrave have a new Lib Dem MP.

5.40am:

More pretty rosettes. We take joy where we can get it.

5.34am:

Windsor Independent David Buckley is 'proud' of his campaign and of the outcome for independents generally. He believes voters see what an independent candidate can do for them locally.

5.32am:

We are perking up like meerkats every time they make an announcement to candidates... Only to hear the dreaded words 'for adjudication' for the umpteenth time tonight.

5.29am:

A lot of people have taken to lounging on the floor of the hall, and we don't blame them.

Many of those still standing and roving look thoroughly fed up, but are in it until the bitter end. Hats off especially to the man who has been holding the door to the hall open for everyone all night long.

5.23am:

Windsor Lib Dem Julian Tisi says, nationally, it's been a very good night for the party. He weighs in on the tactical voting situation in Windsor and remains optimistic about Maidenhead.

5.18:

Gummy worms have been offered by rival journalists. We forget our differences in these trying early hours.

5.00am: 

A big cheer shot up on the other end of the hall in Braywick - likely because Labour passed the threshold nationally.

4.58:

4.52am:

We are going to be hearing the phrase 'candidates please come to the table for adjudication of doubtful ballots' in our sleep for weeks to come.

4.48am:

4.46am:

From the horse's mouth:

4.28am: 

Yet more candidates were called to the tables for adjudication in Braywick... We are certainly waving a sad goodbye to the idea of leaving to sleep at 5am.

4.24am:

It's confirmed: Labour's Tan Dhesi won with 33.76 per cent of the vote share. With so many candidates, it's not surprising it was so split, but it's a marked difference from 2019 when he got a pretty sturdy 57.6 per cent.

4.23am:  And here is the latter half of the Slough candidates:

Julian Edmonds (Green) - 1,873
Adnan Shabbir (WPB) - 1,105
Chandra Muvvala (Ind) - 995
Diana Coad - (Indp) - 402
Jaswinder Singh (Indp) - 204
Nick Smith (Heritage) - 145

4.21am:

4.17am:

It has reached the point in the night where some of us here have forgotten our own names. But we know enough that we are quite sure we haven't heard what the turnout is in either Windsor or Maidenhead yet.

3.56am:

3.51am:

Further results for Slough are in: 

Tan Dhesi (Lab) - 14,666

Azhar Chohan (Ind) - 11,019

Moni Nanda (Cons) - 7,457

Robin Jackson (Reform) - 3,352

Chelsea Whyte (Lib Dem) - 2,060

3.44am:

Adjudication from candidates on doubtful ballots continues at Braywick...

3.34am:

We have a result for Slough!

3.26am:

3.22am:

We've been hearing a lot about these 'doubtful' votes. Perhaps our next MP will be Doubtful.

3.13:

The election candidates are looking at the ambiguous ballots, to make sure they agree with the decision made about them.

3.12am: 

A cluster of hopefuls and supporters have gathered around one of the tables, looking very interested... 

3.02am:

2.58am:

Verification of the last Maidenhead postal votes is happening... 

2.50am:

2.49am:

Windsor and Maidenhead's count staff say they're doing the final verification.

2.38am:

2.22am:

2.21am: 

It sounds as though the Windsor/Maidenhead count isn't going 100 per cent smoothly - they had to make an announcement to the counters, to make sure they're doing things in a very specific way. It's a delicate business.

2.13am: 

2.25am:

The sugary snacks have come out in a big way at the press table. Including some sort of mysterious confection that looks like a bag of erasers. Appropriate for our profession.

2.06am:

In the last General Election, the voter turnout was 73.7 per cent in Maidenhead.

For Windsor, it was 71.6 per cent.

We’re interested to see if more people are motivated to get out and vote in each of the constituencies – or fewer.

2.02am:

It's been announced that the Windsor count is beginning - the first ballot box is being delivered to the table.

Right afterwards, they announced Maidenhead too.

1.51am:

1.48am:

It really wouldn't be an election count without a beautiful collage of rosette photos from Ian Longthorne.

1.47am:

1.45am:

An announcement! They said they are 'finalising verification'. The counters are having a short break, the trays are starting to go out and they will begin counting shortly. That means we'll have the turnout figures soon.

'A number' of ballots require adjudication because they are doubtful. 

They have stressed to the counters 'accuracy over speed' is the name of the game - and we certainly hope so - though it has to be noted that Slough is racing ahead by comparison.

1.40am:

OK so we had a temporary numbers fumble - by the returning officer - (it is twenty-to-two in the morning) but we can confirm now: voter turnout in Slough is 53.44 per cent. In the 2019 election it was 58.8 per cent, so we're looking at a 5.36 per cent drop.

There's no way to know why - people could be less interested in the election, less interested in the party they support, could have little faith that their vote will make a difference to the result, or assume their preferred party is a dead cert.

1.22am:

1.19am: 

We are admiring the way the prospective MPs (the ones we can find) are striding purposefully across the room. Even though they are basically just waiting around like everyone else. It helps to keep busy.

1.15am:

Particularly interesting in this election is Labour’s chances in such traditionally Tory places.

In 2019, Maidenhead’s Labour’s candidate Pat McDonald seemed ‘really sad’ on election night, according to one of our illustrious former colleagues – and that was before the results came in.

That was under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, and Maidenhead’s Labour man didn’t seem to have a lot of faith in him.

Keir Starmer’s leadership has struck a different tone, with different supporters, and in the run-up to this election, Labour’s Jo Smith has seemed a lot more confident in the party’s chances than Mr McDonald did.

Though she's being very tight-lipped tonight, so far...

12.54am:

12.51am:

In Windsor and Maidenhead, the Liberal Democrats ousted the ruling Conservatives from the Royal Borough council in 2023, after 16 years in power.

That was quite the plummet – going down to just seven elected Conservative members.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean the whole Borough is crying ‘Tories out!’ in unison cries of frustration. It may just be because of the perceived failings of the former council.

Maidenhead and Windsor, separately, may be more than happy to stick with a Tory MP. Still a few hours before we find out...

12.37am:

Slough has a bumper crop of candidates this election. There were only five last time – Labour, Con, Lib Dems, Greens and The Brexit Party.

Tan Dhesi came out on top, continuing his hold on the seat, though dropping his share of the vote (by 5.3 percentage points)

Conservatives and Lib Dems came second and third, with the Brexit Party edging out the Greens for fourth.

Is Slough still angling for a Labour MP, or is there thirst for change?

In the fateful 2023 local elections, Labour lost out to the Tories and Lib Dems – but then, the council’s finances did tank under Labour.

12.32am:

12.30am:

The ballot count has begun in Slough. But not everyone here in Maidenhead understands Sam's reference... I suspect because some of us are old, crabby and out of touch.

12.27am: 

Another long-standing Tory MP that opted not to stand this time around was Adam Afriyie. Will his replacement, Mr Rankin, prevail in the historically Tory Windsor?

Last election, Mr Afriyie snaffled up 58.6 per cent of the vote – still a drop from the election before (5.8 per cent) but not quite as big a drop as Mrs May suffered.

Julian Tisi also saw a climb alongside his fellow Lib Dem in the Borough (J Reynolds), nabbing 21.3 per cent (up by 11.2).

He and David Buckley are the only two candidates the same as in the 2019 election.

Last time, Labour got 15.2 per cent of the vote (a 7.7 drop) in Windsor.

12.24am:

12.21am:

12.08am:

We've hit a lull in the hustle and bustle. Time for more history! In 2019, a lifetime ago…

Only four candidates ran in Maidenhead – your standard Tories, Lib Dems, Labour and Green. This year, we have two Independents and an SDP candidate to boot.

The Tories got 57.7 per cent of the vote (a 7 per cent percentage change downwards), while the Lib Dems got 24.4 per cent (a step-up of 13.2 per cent).

Labour got 14 per cent (down 5.4) and Greens got 3.9 (up by 2.4).

The only candidate that is the same in this election is the Lib Dem's offering, Joshua Reynolds, who has since become a cabinet member on the local council.

Has his star risen, or fallen, since then?

12.03am: 

It's officially tomorrow! One of our Maidenhead Independents, Mr Irshad, has things to say.

11.59pm: 

Sam is the lone ranger at Slough tonight, and being the best sport about it.

11.57pm:

11.55pm:

11.50pm:

Hooray, after much effort, we have our first video interview! 

Green hopeful Andrew Cooney says he's 'excited, it's a new experience.'

"It's nice to see democracy in action," he said.

He's described the atmosphere as 'really friendly.'

11.38pm:

11.33pm:

Windsor's Labour candidate is feeling confident in her party at least...

11.29pm:

11.28pm:

11.27pm:

11.24pm: 

Some comparatively sedate pics at Braywick.

11.20pm:

Not strictly relevant to the count, but we cannot resist sharing these democratic fluffballs who stopped by to vote earlier.

11.15pm:

The first ballots are in over in Slough - and with that trademark ‘splash’ too!

Our counters tonight have the task of totalling up thousands of your votes from more than 40 ballot boxes across the constituency.  

11.13pm:

Some history, while we wait.

Since the 1997, the Maidenhead seat was held by Conservative MP Theresa May – making a whopping 27 years.

In fact, she was the first and only elected MP for the constituency since it was created in 1997.

With one person having held the seat for so long, it remains to be seen if the good people of Maidenhead are happy to stick to Conservative under a brand-new Tory MP – one not well-known to the area.

11.00pm:

Everything's a bit slower and quieter in Maidenhead... A low-level bustle, but no splashing of the ballot papers onto the table. It doesn't feel the same without a good ballot-splash.

10.50pm:

Our Sam is right behind them.

10.44pm:

Slough Council is very eager-beaver and has already tweeted (X-ed?) out the ballot box turning-out pictures...

10.33pm:

While we're twiddling our thumbs, let's have a reminder of who's standing.

In Maidenhead: Tania Mathias (Con), Joshua Reynolds (Lib Dem), Jo Smith (Lab), Andrew Cooney (Green), Tim Burt (SDP), Qazi Yasir Irshad (Ind), George Wright (Ind).

In Windsor: Jack Rankin (Con), Pavitar Kaur Mann (Lab), Julian Tisi (Lib Dems), Michael Boyle (Green), David Buckley (Ind), Simran Kaur Dhillon (Workers Party), Harl Grewal (Reform).

In Slough: Tan Dhesi (Lab), Moni Kaur Nanda (Con), Chelsea Whyte (Lib Dem), Julian Edmonds (Green), Robin Jackson (Reform), Adnan Shabbir (Workers Party), Nick Smith (Heritage), Azhar Chohan (Ind), Diana Coad (Ind), Chandra Muvvala (Ind), Jaswinder Singh (Ind).

10.26pm: Over in Slough, postal votes from across the constituency are being totted up by the counting staff. We’re expecting the first ballot box in soon…

10.25pm:

The first bit of real news - it looks as though Theresa May will be getting a peerage.

10.22pm: 

First announcement of the night. They're outlining the process in Braywick, where the Windsor and Maidenhead count is going on.

Apparently there are 115 polling stations across Windsor and Maidenhead.

First up, they're counting the number of ballot papers only - not the votes.

This is to check all the ballot papers 'match what we're expecting'.

10.16pm: 

Lots of rosettes of every colour in the clusters of the entrance in Braywick. 

At least one person was exuberantly happy with the exit polls...

We spied Dr Mathias coming in... No sign of the others yet, and we are scanning the room. Plenty of local councillors though, parish councillors and other community familiar faces.

According to this pamphlet, ballot boxes will start to arrive any minute...

10.13pm:

A bit of a later start than we were expecting over in Maidenhead, due to some confusion about whether the count doors had actually opened, but we are live!

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