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22 September 2026

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Elections 2021: LIVE

Politics.co.uk Staff

8 May 2021, 11:13am

Sunday 9th

Elections 2021

Welcome back to our final day of election coverage.

Our editor-at-large, Ian Dunt, says that the SNP has a clear mandate for Indyref2.

https://www.politics.co.uk/comment/2021/05/09/supporters-of-the-union-must-accept-sturgeons-referendum-mandate/

You can watch him discuss Indyref2 here.

https://www.politics.co.uk/video/2021/05/09/unconscionably-stupid-to-block-indyref2/

The SNP look set to press ahead with pursuing a second referendum, after a storming performance in the Scottish elections.

Nicola Sturgeon fell one short of the 65 seats needed to form an unlikely majority in Holyrood. Nevertheless, the SNP leader has made clear that the party intends to pass legislation for a second referendum.

Michael Gove was coy on whether the UK government would legally block the move. 

 

Saturday 8th

Elections 2021

6:15pm – All from us for today but we’ll be back tomorrow!

5:03pm – A few results for Labour supporters to cheer for, as they hold the North Tyneside mayor.

4:51pm – This is definitely one of the key takeaways from today’s vote. Brexit didn’t just cause a short-term switch in allegiances, it has changed the way the debate is framed. The culture war has become more important than economics.

4:45pm – Unsurprisingly Andy Burnham has been re-elected as Manchester mayor, prompting questions about whether he will run for the Labour leadership:

4:43pm – It seems the SNP will fall just short of a majority:

4:40pm – A big result for Labour this, as they win West of England Metro Mayor from the Conservatives. There definitely seems to be a pattern where in the south Labour have done well, while in the north they have collapsed.

https://twitter.com/REWearmouth/status/1391055232533139460

2:34pm – Labour equal their best ever Welsh election result:

1:35pm – The south of England seems to have proved fairly positive for Labour, but that can’t paper over the collapse of their northern support.

https://twitter.com/jessicaelgot/status/1391008275378933760

1:25pm – A sign of just how much politics has flipped in the past few years. Safe seats switching left and right.

1:20pm – There have been claims from some Conservative candidates that the government gives extra attention and money to Conservative councils. Obviously this throws up many issues, but it seems to have convinced some to vote Tory. 

https://twitter.com/Kate_M_Proctor/status/1391004628549087233

1:14pm – And Alba have conceded that they won’t win a seat today. Polling expert John Curtice has also said that despite not winning a seat, Alba may have damaged the other pro-independence parties.

12:43pm – New party Alba have not made the inroads that ex-first minister Alex Salmond would’ve hoped for:

12:33pm – It seems almost inevitable that Labour will have to change strategies after these results. The question is whether they embrace left wing policies which arguably failed in 2019, but have proved popular in Preston and Wales.

12:13pm – The London mayoral vote result is expected tonight. Labour’s Sadiq Khan was always favourite and overnight has pulled out a sizeable lead after a closer than expected opening count.

11:46am – Some good news for Labour in Liverpool, where Joanna Anderson has made history as the first black woman to be elected as a mayor in the UK.

11:30am – It is interesting to note that each country within the union has so far gone in a different direction. Wales dominated by Labour, England by Conservatives and Scotland by the SNP. A hint at the fractioning of the UK?

10:52am – SNP edge ever closer, even though their majority decreases:

10:46am – Labour matched their best ever result in Wales, in stark contrast to their disappointing showing in England:

10:27am – Tactical voting has proved to be a real difficulty for the SNP, whose hopes of a majority is going down to the wire:

10:24am – While it has been an undoubtably disappointing election for Labour, they will gain confidence from a strong showing in Wales.

10:06am – So where do things stand after last night?

  • SNP majority on a knife edge
  • Despite difficulties in England, Labour make gains in Wales
  • London mayorality looking close after first round

10:00am – Welcome back again!

Friday 7th

Elections 2021: Live

6:00pm – That’s us on the live team done for the day.

The results will keep coming in, and don’t worry, we’ll be back tomorrow in what promises to be another nail-biting day of election results. 

Adios. 

5:56pm – It will be fascinating to see how this plays out tomorrow.

It would be a political earthquake if Sadiq Khan were to lose to Shaun Bailey.

5:38pm – Huge gain for the SNP.

5:30pm – Positive start for Welsh Labour.

4:17pm – Nicola Sturgeon is re-elected as MSP to Glasgow Southside.

4:11pm – Keir Starmer says he will “set out how things will change over the next few days”. 

4:09pm – A silver lining for Keir Starmer and Labour.

4:07pm – Big win for the SNP in East Lothian. If they want a majority, this is the sort of seat they needed to take. 

3:56pm – A huge win for Ben Houchen. If the Conservatives take the West Midlands mayoral contest with Andy Street, they’ll complete the ‘hat-trick’ of Hartlepool, Teeside, and the West Midlands.

https://twitter.com/SebastianEPayne/status/1390681109210533889

3:52pm – Labour’s day goes from bad to worse. 

3:45pm – What’s the most you’ve ever had riding on a coin toss?

3:35pm – The count is steadily coming in North of the border, and it is looking like it will be close in Scotland. 

If the SNP do get a majority, it will be the story of the 2021 elections. 

3:00pm – Where do Labour go from here? Ian Dunt offers his take on events.

https://www.politics.co.uk/video/2021/05/07/where-do-labour-go-from-here/

2:47pm – Analysis from our reporter Chris Lomas on what went wrong for Labour in Hartlepool.

2:33pm – High turnout in Scotland is likely to bode well for the SNP.

1:03pm – Keir Starmer’s predecessor with an implicit dig at the current leadership. Labour has never looked more divided. 

12:37pm – Interesting analysis from Lewis Goodall. A lifeline for Labour?

11:39am – This may be a crude comment, but the culture war is really damaging for Labour. It’s almost unwinnable for them.

10:51am – If, like in recent GEs, Labour completely dominates London, it would paint a picture of a party which appeals strongly to cities, but has completely lost the countrysides. Is this the direction the Labour party should embrace? And if so, can they win this way?

10:48am – Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words:

10:38am – In the leadup to the elections, polling heavily suggested that Boris Johnson is one of the biggest pulls for the Tory party. 

10:26am – While there have been plenty of barbs shot at each other in the Labour party, so far there have been no strong suggestions for a reshuffle in both leadership and cabinet.

10:12am – Dominic Cummings weighs in on the results. Suggests that Starmer has been listening to media priorities over people’s priorities:

10:07am – But a reminder here that Hartlepool is just one result, and one that was arguably on the cards. A full general election can massively change voting intentions (look at Corbyn’s surge in 2017). Regardless, Labour need to have a re-think.

10:03am – Scotland could blow all these results out of the water. It would be incredibly interesting to see the Tories’ popularity if Scotland left the union. How would their pro-UK base feel if Scotland left Britain? Would the blame be placed on the SNP, or on the Conservatives who may have pushed Scottish voters in that direction?

9:51am – There are lots of questions this throws up. Was Corbyn’s Labour more appealing? Was it on the wane by 2019? How much did UKIP/Brexit Party split the right wing vote?

But it also seems that 2017 may have been an outlier rather than a trend. The 2017 Labour manifesto promised to back Brexit, whereas the 2019 Labour did not. Is that the only sticking point here?

9:45am – An interesting analysis here of why Labour are struggling to win back their old voters, and seem stuck in no man’s land:

9:31am – Even in areas where Labour are holding councils, their vote shares and seats are often decreasing.

9:29am – With the SNP (and Scotland in general) seemingly less than keen on the Conservatives, it will be interesting to see if the Tories’ domination in England translates to increased calls for independence.

9:24am – Labour’s bad day continues as the Tories gain Dudley:

9:10am – The shocking turn of popularity in voting tendencies clearly laid out here:

9:06am – It can be easy to forget that Johnson was facing pressure from within his party. These results should solidify him for now, at least until the results from the various inquiries emerge.

8:49am – Mildly criticising your largest voting base seems an odd way of turning around poor election results:

8:36am – Peter Mandelson, who was the MP for Hartlepool for over a decade, has said he feels ‘mild fury’ at the result. Suggests a return to Blairite policies if Labour want to be re-elected.

8:22am – The red wall has not just crumbled, it’s been knocked down.

8:13am – It’s very tempting to just think about Hartlepool, but let’s not forget we have huge election results from Wales and Scotland to come up later today. Count starts at 9am. 

If the SNP win a majority it could lead to further calls for Scottish independence. Watch our piece on these increasing calls here:

8:03am – Starmer’s response to the results. Sticks by the centrist Labour line that there had not been enough change, rather than there had been too much.

7:55am – The inherent problem Labour have is that both sides seem to be interpreting this result to suit their own views. The moderates see it as a continuation of the fallout from Corbyn, while the left see it as a damning assessment of the step away from socialism.

7:51am – Another big win for the Conservatives on a morning that just keeps getting worse for Labour:

7:44am – Here’s the full Hartlepool results. Over half of the vote went to the Conservatives:

7:40am – As said, the two schools of thought in Labour are instantly at war. 

7:33am – And it may have gone under the radar with all the news going on, but NIP did far worse than expected, failing to even get their deposit back.

7:31am – Important to note that there don’t seem to be signs of a Starmer resignation (although supporters may feel different). But big questions to answer.

7:26am – We hear the term ‘unprecedented’ used often in politics these days, but it is fairly apt today with Hartlepool:

7:21am – Two trains of thought coming from Labour: the first saying Labour has changed too much, and the other that they haven’t changed enough. Labour’s damaging long running civil war continues.

7:18am – The questions have started. How will the Labour left react to this devastating result?

7:12am – 38 other seats where the Brexit party vote is greater than the Labour majority. How do Labour win back these voters?

7:10am – A considerable swing from Labour to Conservatives. The Tories did not just gain from the Brexit party, but from Labour too. There will be plenty of questions regarding the choice of candidates by Labour, and the decision to hold the by-election today.

7:08am – Conservatives won by a huge margin of almost 7,000 votes.

https://twitter.com/danbloom1/status/1390548751148793857

7:06am – BREAKING NEWS: Conservatives win Hartlepool

6:57am – This sums it up well. The Greens and Labour (and arguably Lib Dems) have split each other’s vote whilst the Tories no longer have any opposition on the right:

https://twitter.com/SebastianEPayne/status/1390453764864290821

6:49am – What could become clear over the course of the day is that Labour were ‘lucky’ to gain as many seats as they did in the previous election. The Brexit party, who only competed in Labour seats, have overwhelmingly switched to the Conservatives, saving Labour in many northern constituencies.

6:45am – The interesting note here is that Labour’s vote share increased, but the Tories have hoovered up Brexit Party votes. Shows that Labour are struggling how to attract their voter base. Left wing supporters have gone to the Greens, while right wing supporters have gone from the Brexit party to Conservatives.

6:38am – It’s fair to say this is likely a Tory seat. Labour have already conceded. Usually opposition parties do well in by-elections, but this seems a step backwards for a party that struggled heavily in 2019.

https://twitter.com/danbloom1/status/1390540973755752450

6:35am – It will be interesting to see with Hartlepool if Labour’s vote share has decreased, or whether the Conservatives have just taken all the Brexit party votes.

6:28am – Hartlepool by-election is taking longer to count than expected due to covid restrictions. Expected announcement around 7am.

6:23am – Labour in the difficult position of bleeding votes to both the right and left of the party.

6:20am – Grave sounds coming out of the Labour camp already. Starmer will be under considerable pressure if results continue in the same vein.

6:15am – 

  • Hartlepool expected to switch Conservative
  • Conservative gains in councils in the north of England
  • Good night for the Greens who make gains off Labour

6:00am – Welcome back! Let’s take a look at how things look so far.

Thursday 6th

10:15am – It’s election day!

We hope you’re getting ready to go out and vote. Keep up on this page for all the latest news and updates on the 2021 Elections.

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