General Election 2017: First results start coming in

Newcastle has beaten its arch-rival Sunderland to be the first constituency to declare a General Election result.

For 25 years over the last six general elections, Sunderland has beaten all-comers by running a slick operation, having runners sprint with the ballot boxes into the hall and using bank tellers to count votes.

In 2015, the well-oiled machine was able to declare the city’s three MPs within an hour and a half of the polls closing, before anyone else had been named a winner.

But Newcastle City Council declared the first winner, with Labour candidate Chi Onwurah winning the seat of Newcastle Central at 11pm.

Sunderland declared its first result minutes later, with Labour candidate Bridget Phillipson re-elected to the seat of Houghton and Sunderland South.