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Election 2017: live blog

The JC's political editor Marcus Dysch leads our liveblog team through the night and into the morning as we bring you all the essential information Refresh the page for latest updates....

JC Reporter

BY JC Reporter

June 08, 2017 18:00
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10.51 - Reaction to the night's event coming in from the Board of Deputies.

President Jonathan Arkush says: “With the uncertainty of the result as it stands, we will await a clearer outcome before commenting more extensively. In the meantime, however, we would like to congratulate the many friends of our community who have been re-elected and elected for the first time.

"We also note that a number of good friends of our community have lost their seats. We wish them well and look forward to remaining in touch with them and working with their successors in the interests of our community.”

10.45 - There’s been a resignation, and it’s Paul Nuttall who has stood down,

The now-former Ukip leader blamed his party’s failure to win a seat on it being “the victim of its own success”. Voters believed Ukip had done its job having secured Brexit and was no longer relevant. But Mr Nuttall insisted that the party was more relevant than ever as “the guard dog of Brexit”.He wished the prime minister – “whoever that is” – all the best but warned Ukip wouldn’t tolerate any backsliding in the upcoming negotiations with Brussels,

 

10.30 - Theresa May is to go to Buckingham Palace at 12.30pm to seek permission from the Queen to form a government, despite losing her majority in the Commons.

The Prime Minister, who has just reached a deal to produce a small working majority in coalition with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). has insisted that she will not resign after a disastrous night for the Tories.

Meanwhile Jeremy Corbyn has repeated calls for her to go and said that he is "ready to serve the country".

10:03 - David Miliband praises Labour’s performance at the polls – better than 2015 when the party was led by brother Ed.
 

 

9:50 – At one stage during the night at least one bookmaker had Jeremy Corbyn as favourite to become the next Prime Minister.
According to the  Independent, Betfair Exchange was offering £2.48 for every pound put on the Labour leader to be the next occupant of No. 10.
 
Other bookmakers have been more cautious. William Hill, Bet Victor, Paddy Power all have Theresa May and Boris Johnson as more likely to lead the country than Mr Corbyn.
 
Here are the prime ministerial odds from William Hill: Mrs May 3/10; Boris Johnson 4/1, Mr Corbyn 13/2.

9:40 – Luciana Berger has told our colleague Lee Harpin that she was "humbled and delighted" after securing a spectacular victory in Liverpool Wavertree.

Ms Berger, parliamentary chair of the Jewish Labour Movement, secured a 29, 466 strong majority after capturing an impressive 79.6 per cent of the vote.

The strong performance saw the 36 year-old politician pick up 34,717 votes in total - an increase of more than 5000 on her 2015 showing.

Ms Berger told the JC:"I am humbled and delighted to be returned as the Labour & Co-operative MP for Liverpool Wavertree with both an increased turnout and majority.
"As I said in my acceptance speech, I want to continue being a strong voice for my constituents in parliament."

9.22 – Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, the Senior Rabbi to Reform Judaism, seeks the positives in this message to Theresa May.

"I wish the Prime Minister strength and wisdom navigating the path ahead of us. Instead of seeing this as a hung Parliament, we could see it as a negotiating Parliament, necessitating involvement of all parties."

9.05 – Here's where things stand with just three seats left to declare:
  Seats +/- Votes
Conservatives 316 -12 13,568,716
Labour 261 +29 12,824,737
SNP 35 -21 977,569
Lib Dem 12 +4 2,327,425
UKIP 0 -1 593,852
9am ––  Sarah Sackman, Labour’s defeated 2015 candidate in Finchley and Golders Green, commiserates with Jeremy Newmark
 
8:45am – What happens next?
The focus turns to Theresa May now, with the Prime Minister reportedly scrambling to find a way to form a minority government but many are wondering this morning how long she can cling on.
 
The Conservative Party is projected to win fewer seats than it did in 2015, and will fall short of the 326 seats needed for an overall majority.
 
Deals may be struck which would allow Mrs May to run a minority government, in which the DUP, say, would help to approve an autumn statement.
 
As Labour prime minister Harold Wilson found after the February 1974 election, running a minority government is challenging to say the least.
 
Wilson had to call another second election in October ’74, winning the slenderest of majorities.
 
But having called a snap election with the aim of securing a powerful House of Commons majority, Mrs May may not have the mandate to continue as Conservative party leader – and Prime Minister.
 
If she does stand down (and it does not seem she will this morning) will there be a leadership contest?
 
If so, will an established figure – such as Boris Johnson, Amber Rudd or Philip Hammond – prevail? Ms Rudd herself only just retained her Hastings and Rye seat by 346 votes.

8:40am – The BBC's assistant political editor writes… 

8:30am - Lee Harpin sends this in from Barnet; 

It was a night of high drama right across the UK.

And if the final election results in the three contested Barnet seats appear to have had an air of predictability, don't for one moment be fooled.

Three Conservative candidates might in the end have found themselves elected in Hendon, Finchley and Golders Green and Chipping Barnet but boy, it was close.

There will be those who will say it was Jewish voters, some put off by Labour's antisemitism issues, who played a decisive role in securing wafter-thin majorities for Matthew Offord, Mike Freer and Theresa Villiers respectively.

But for a long time, on a very long night at Allianz Park, where the count took place for all three seats, it looked like three Labour candidates could end up representing seats containing large numbers of British Jews.

For some the thought of MPs from a Jeremy Corbyn led Labour representing the community was daunting.

"I don't even want to think about Labour winning anywhere in Barnet," one Tory election agent inside the East Stand of the rugby stadium admitted to me as the votes were totted up.

Meanwhile a senior Labour figure also admitted they feared a possible "community backlash" if one of two Jewish Labour candidates, namely Mike Katz in Hendon, and Jeremy Newmark in Finchley and Golders Green were victorious.

And so, after much tension, and two recounts, at 4.45 am, the first result in the borough was declared.

Mike Freer, the Conservative candidate has scored a narrow victory over Jewish Labour Movement chair Jeremy Newmark by just over 1500 votes.

"I want to thank the Jewish community for sticking with me," said a joyful Mr Freer after the result was called, aware that he now had a much reduced majority in the seat he had just regained.

Mr Newmark meanwhile stressed his commitment to fighting antisemitism both outside and within his own party.

With dawn breaking and the clock ticking round to 5.30am it was time for the Barnet mayor to announce the Hendon result - a slender majority for Mr Offord, whose acceptance speech had no word for the large numbers of Jews who make up 17 per cent of the constituency's electorate.

His defeated Labour rival was happy to acknowledge the community, however. Mr Katz told me: "To get as close as we did, there much have been a sizeable number of Jews voting for Labour across the whole of Barnet."

But perhaps the seat in which the community's vote played most significance was the one in which none of the candidates themselves were Jewish.

Youthful and energetic Labour Chipping Barnet hopeful Emma Whysall came within 353 votes of toppling Theresa Villiers, a former minister and MP for the constituency for the past 12 years.

If Jeremy Corbyn had dealt with antisemitism within his party rather differently, it would be highly likely Chipping Barnet would have been another scalp on a very good night for the Labour leader.

8am – the word from Borehamwood

In an interview with the Borehamwood Times overnight Oliver Dowden, the victorious Conservative in Hertsmere, said:

"I am absolutely delighted and it was a wonderful to get the fantastic endorsement from the people of Hertsmere.

"You are always nervous, I never ever ever take the electorate for granted, you have to fight for every vote, but it's a fantastic result.

"I think I willl have a deep in-take of breath and take in everything that is going on." 

7:55am – Streeting ‘gobsmacked’

Labour’s Wes Streeting defeated odds-on Tory favourite Lee Scott, gaining a majority of just under 10,000. Speaking to the Ilford Recorder, Mr Streeting said that he was “gobsmacked by the result in Ilford North and across the country”.

He added:  “I don’t mind admitting that [I] envisioned a Tory majority of 50 to 70 seats.

“This election shows you cannot take voters for granted.

“Theresa May said she was strong and stable but has proved to be weak and wobbly.”

7:30am – For those of you just emerging this morning, here are the key points from a night of surprises.
 
It’s a hung Parliament after Theresa May’s gamble on a snap election massively backfired.
 
The Tories are projected to be the biggest party nationally, currently set to win 318 seats, not enough to win a majority. Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party are on course for 262 – 30 more than the party won under Ed Miliband. 645 of 650 have been declared.
 
Conservative Mike Freer was re-elected in Finchley and Golders Green with 24,599 votes, but his majority was slashed from 5,600 to below 2,000. Labour’s Jewish candidate Jeremy Newmark got 22,942 votes
 
Matthew Offord clung on to Hendon, the constituency with the second-largest Jewish representation. The Tory candidate, who was the sitting MP, made it over the line with a 1,000-seat majority, down from 3,700.
Hampstead and Kilburn, another top Tory target, was held by popular MP Tulip Siddiq by 15,500 votes, completing a successful night in the capital for Labour.
 
Labour candidate Wes Streeting, who won in Ilford North by just 589 votes two years ago, retained the seat by almost 10,000 votes over Jewish Conservative rival Lee Scott.
 
Top Tory target Bury South, in north Manchester, was held by veteran Labour figure Ivan Lewis by 6,000 votes, while Liverpool Wavertree MP Luciana Berger was returned to Parliament by a huge margin of almost 30,000.
 
In nearby Liverpool Riverside, long-serving Jewish MP Louise Ellman won for Labour with another comfortable majority, while her party colleague Ruth Smeeth – once thought to be in danger in Stoke-on-Trent North - was returned with more than 50 per cent of the vote.
 
The Conservative Party did, however, make a gain in the Scottish seat Renfrewshire East – another large Jewish seat. Paul Masterston won it from the SNP by 4,700 votes.
 
Harrow East and Chipping Barnet, in north London, were very tight Tory holds on the night. Bob Blackman and Theresa Villiers were returned with margins of 1,700 and 353 votes, respectively.
 
And Conservative Oliver Dowden held onto Hertsmere, in south Hertfordshire, by almost 17,000 votes.

7:15am –  Narrow margins

Zac Goldsmith, who recently re-joined the Conservative party, took back the Richmond Park seat he lost in December’s by-election as an independent. He beat Lib Dem Sarah Olney  by just 45votes, after a recount. In stark contrast, he won the seat in 2015 by more than 23,000 votes.
 
Ian Austin had held on to Dudley North by the skin of his teeth. The Labour MP, who is the son of a Holocaust survivor, won by just 22 votes over the Tory candidate Les Jones after a recount.
 
No nail-biting needed for Ed Miliband however. The former Labour leader was re-elected in Doncaster North with a comfortable 14,000 majority.
 

7:06am – Here's how the election looks from across the Atlantic:

7.05am – At last, some good news for Diane Abbott

Diane Abbott has had a rocky campaign to put it mildly, but she can smile this morning.
 
The former Shadow Home Secretary increased her already sizeable majority in Hackney North and Stoke Newington - home to Europe’s largest Charedi community - winning 42,265, putting her way beyond her Conservative rival on 7,126, Lib Dem 3,817, Greens 2,606.
 
Rabbi Abraham Pinter, an ex-Labour councillor and a prominent figure in the strictly Orthodox community, reacted to the result by saying “I am happy for her.
 
“She has been supportive of the community as a whole although there have been concerns about antisemitism within the Labour party.
 
“What the Labour result shows overall is that Corbyn has a mandate no one was expecting. We are all going to have to come to an understanding with him.”
 
Rabbi Pinter said he felt cuts to Charedi families were a large concern for voters in his constituency despite reluctance to vote Labour due to antisemitism concerns.
 
“We have seen cuts to education, cuts to welfare, NHS, large families are being hit really badly under the Conservatives and it goes against Yiddishkeit.”

7am –  The Guardian's video of Jeremy Corbyn's victory speech in islington shows the Labour leader  apparently calling for Theresa May to resign:  

Michael Foster’s hopes of causing an upset in Jeremy Corbyn’s seat of Islington North were dashed after he polled just 208 votes.
 
The Jewish retired showbusiness agent, whose family has donated £400,000 to Labour, decided to stand as an independent in a protest over Mr Corbyn’s handling of the antisemitism crisis and concerns about his abilities as a leader.
 
Mr Corbyn increased his majority in the constituency by 10,430 votes, up to 40,086 votes.
6:55am – John Woodcock MP, a former Labour Friends of Israel chair, held his seat in Barrow & Furness – but by a majority of just 209 votes.
 
The MP, who took the seat in 2010, narrowly fended off Tory Simon Fell, who pulled in 22,383 compared with Mr Woodcock’s 22,592.
 
There is to be a full recount in Dudley North where there are less than 25 votes between Labour’s Ian Austin and Tory candidate Les Jones.  Mr Austin, the son of a Holocaust survivor, has repeatedly condemned Jeremy Corbyn’s handling of his party’s antisemitism crisis.
 
Labour Friends of Israel stalwart Mary Creagh has held on in Wakefield. The sitting MP since 2010, she won 22,987 votes – a 49.7 per cent share - beating Tory Antony Calvert who got 20,811 votes.

 

6.41am –  In Walsall North, it’s been a bad night for Labour veteran David Winnick who lost after serving in the West Midlands constituency for 38 years.

Mr Winnick, who at 83 was the oldest Jewish MP in the last Parliament, got 16,318 votes - not enough to beat Conservative candidate Eddie Hughes on 18,919 votes. In third place was Liz Hazell of Ukip, edging out Lib Dem Isabelle Parasram.

6.30am – Good morning. Marcus Dysch and Daniel Sugarman are off for a well-earned rest. JC reporters Rosa Doherty, Lianne Kolirin and Ben Weich are taking over to round up all that’s been happening results-wise, and to gauge reaction after what has been a night of shocks and surprises

In Scotland Jewish Labour candidate Rhea Wolfson lost out to SNP who managed to hold on to their majority.

SNP’s Hannah Bardell won the Livingston seat with 21,036 votes. Ms Wolfson, who is in her mid-20s, secured 17, 158 votes.

Seen as a rising star in the Labour party, she sits on the party’s national executive committee after more than 85,000 party supporters voted for her to take the key role.

Just catching up on an earlier result, and David Ward, the former Lib Dem MP sacked by his party for antisemitic remarks, was beaten by Labour in Bradford East.

Running as an independent, he received just 3,576 votes, way behind Labour’s Imran Hussain on 29,831 votes.

He did manage to beat his former party’s candidate, Mark Jewell, who gained a measley 843 votes.

Ward was condemned by politicians, Jewish groups and Shoah survivors in 2013 after using his blog to equate Jewish suffering in the Holocaust with Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. 

He was selected by the Lib Dems in April to try to win back the Bradford East seat he lost at the 2015 election. But party leader Tim Farron sacked him 24 hours later, saying he  was “unfit to represent the party”.

5:50am If you're just up, here's the state of play so far:

  Seats +/- Votes
Conservatives 298 -12 12,922,947
Labour 253 +28 12,315,303
SNP 34 -20 932,389
Lib Dem 12 +5 2,176,603
UKIP 0 -1 572,262

5.40am: Snap analysis of a snap general election from political editor Marcus Dysch

What an extraordinary night. How Theresa May must wish she’d done a Gordon Brown and kept herself shut away in Downing Street. Instead she gambled, and has lost, massively.

I’m tempted to look at the results in the Barnet constituencies – especially in Finchley and Golders Green and Hendon, and say that the Jewish community kept two Tory seats out of Jeremy Corbyn’s hands.

Mike Freer had his majority heavily hit by Jeremy Newmark, and Matthew Offord held off Mike Katz.

The potential row that would have erupted in the Jewish community had those two Jewish Labour Movement candidates unseated two friends of British Jews, and put Mr Corbyn two seats closer to Number Ten, is unlikely to materialise.

In Harrow East, Bob Blackman, another Conservative, was also re-elected.

But how do those results square with those elsewhere – Tulip Siddiq increasing her previous majority of just 1,128 to a whopping 15,000-plus? Or Wes Streeting taking his lead of 589 from two years ago and turning it into a majority of more than 10,000? Did the Jews in those constituencies similarly reject Mr Corbyn? Or is it all a case of hard-working MPs convincing their constituents to do what Mrs May didn’t, and stick with the status quo?

Something very peculiar has happened across our country tonight. Ukip’s collapse and the turnout of young voters have clearly played a key role. So have the SNP losses in Scotland. As have, quite clearly, those voters unhappy with the outcome of last year’s EU referendum. Revenge of the Remainers? Not half.

There will be a lot more analysis to be done of these crazy results. And a lot of discussion – who will form a government? Who will be Prime Minister?

For now, the community will probably comfort itself with a few points: Jeremy Corbyn is unlikely to be Prime Minister, although it’s not impossible. Friends such as Siddiq, Freer, Streeting, Ivan Lewis, Fabian Hamilton and Joan Ryan stay in Parliament.

There are even new Jewish MPs – Alex Sobel was a Labour winner in Leeds.

But the outcome of this election remains largely unclear. And so the wait goes on.

 

5.30am - Wes wins again

Wes Streeting has retained his seat of Ilford North, and if you've been keeping your eye on the other results overnight, that won't come as much of a surprise.

The young and dynamic Labour MP had fought a tireless and extremely competent campaign for re-election (it's not everyone who can get endorsed by Ian Mckellen).
 
Even when the polls looked like a Tory majority was on the cards, there were signs that Wes wouldn't be leaving Parliament.
 
And he hasn't. Instead, following the trend of many other Labour constituencies down south, he's increased his majority from a few hundred to more than 10,000.
 
Lee Scott, the Jewish former Labour MP for the constituency, had hoped to make a comeback, but like a number of Tory candidates today - and indeed, many others across the country - he'll be left scratching his head and wondering how on earth this happened. 

5.05am - Updates:

  • Ruth Smeeth, Jewish Labour MP in Stoke, holds her seat
  • Lucy Frazer, Jewish Tory MP, holds Cambridgeshire South East
  • Fabian Hamilton, veteran Labour MP in Leeds, holds his seat despite expected opposition to Jeremy Corbyn 

4.55am: BREAKING - Tories HOLD Hendon, and Finchley and Golders Green

Mike Freer has held on to Finchley and Golders Green, albeit with a shrunken majority.

The Conservative was challenged by Jeremy Newmark, the head of the Jewish Labour Movement.
 
Mr Newmark came close - Mr Freer's majority was cut from over 4,000 to just 1,657 - but as described earlier this evening, Jewish antipathy towards Jeremy Corbyn was very strong in the seat - and may have made the difference between victory and defeat for Labour, in what now appears to be a marginal seat once more.
 
Mr Freer told the JC: "I want to thank the Jewish community for sticking with me."

4.50am:  Tulip blooms with massively increased majority

After the 2010 election Hampstead and Kilburn was Labour, but had the smallest majority in the country.

Labour managed to increase that majority in 2015, when Tulip Siddiq became MP, but only to around a thousand. To many Tory eyes, it must have seemed like a seat ripe for the picking.

But, in what can only be described as a rout of many Conservatives in London, former marginal seats have, in the blink of an eye, become Labour fortresses.
 
Ms Siddiq joked that during her election campaign a seven year old boy had recognised her as the MP for the constituency, adding proudly "she's as tall as I am".
 
Well, she may not be tall, but seeing as she's now standing on a majority of - and I can't believe I'm saying this - over 15,000, you can bet she's towering over the Tories this morning. 

4.35am: Friends re-elected

Andrew Percy, who converted to Judaism in March, has been re-elected to represent the constituency of Brigg and Goole, which is on the border of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

Since entering Parliament in 2010, Mr Percy has been a staunch friend of Israel, but as described in an interview with the JC earlier this year, he has felt an affinity for Judaism for a long time, and so decided to join the tribe.
 
Meanwhile, the Parliamentary chair of Labour Friends of Israel, Joan Ryan, has been re-elected in the seat of Enfield North. Ms Ryan had been holding on with a majority of little more than 1,000, with the Tories keenly eyeing up the seat as a potential gain.
 
But as replicated across London tonight for Labour, Ms Ryan has been returned to Parliament with a massively swelled majority - of over 10,000.

 

4.30am: Tainted Tory victories?

Grant Shapps has held on to his seat, Welwyn Hatfield, but like so many Conservatives who have retained their seats tonight, his majority is noticeably thinner than two years ago.

In 2015 the Jewish Conservative MP took the constituency with a 12,153 majority separating him from Labour in second place.
 
Fast forward to today, and that majority, though still considerable, is at 7,369

4.10am: Yorkshire

And so to God's own country, where there are two results of interest.

As rumoured earlier, Alex Sobel has gained the seat of Leeds North West for Labour, ousting Greg Mullholland, the Liberal Democrat.

It was Mr Sobel's second attempt to take the seat, having fallen short by almost 3,000 votes just two years ago. He won by 4,224 votes.

Mr Sobel is a member of the Jewish Labour Movement, joining what looks to be an expanding bloc of JLM members who will be taking seats at Westminster in the coming days.
 
Meanwhile a few miles away, Naz Shah held her Bradford seat for Labour.
 
Ms Shah stands as an example of how a politician can change their views. She was discovered to have made antisemitic comments on social media and suspended from the Labour Party, but used her time to reach out to the Jewish Labour Movement and understand more about the nature of her comments, and about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
 
Her acknowledgement of Israel's right to exist may not sound like much to voters in Hendon or Hertsmere, but it was a brave step in a seat in which support for the Palestinian cause is seen as a key issue. Ms Shah was heckled with shouts of "Jew" when she made her statement at a local hustings in this campaign.
 
Talking of antisemitic comments on social media, the SNP's Paul Monaghan has lost his seat.
 
The SNP has had a rough night so far, having lost 14 seats already. And one of those who will be waving farewell to Westminster is Dr Monaghan, whose regular pontificating on Twitter, especially in support of the Palestinian cause, got him into hot water more than once. He was forced to apologise for an antisemitic tweet about "Jews" and Palestinians two years ago.
 
Moving back south of the border, though, and Jewish readers will be no doubt be heartened to learn that John Mann, one of their staunchest opponents of antisemitism in Parliament, has kept his seat of Bassetlaw.
 
The head of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Antisemitism endeared himself to many in the community after being filmed giving Ken Livingstone a good talking to after the latter made his highly controversial comments on Hitler and Zionism.  

 

3.40am: A Jewish loser this time around

Now to Harrow West, where Hannah David, having come within 2,500 votes of edging out Labour's Gareth Thomas in 2015, was no doubt hoping to scoop up this seat tonight, given the polls we saw yesterday - and indeed, throughout the campaign.

But instead, Mr Thomas has enlarged his majority substantially, with 13,314 votes now separating him from the Conservative Jewish candidate, languishing far behind in second place.
 
Meanwhile, just across the border in Harrow East, Bob Blackman has bucked the London trend and held his seat for the Tories.
 
But he sees his majority cut heavily - he led by 4,757 two years ago - tonight he won with 25,129 votes to Navin Shah's 23,372 for Labour.
 
Jewish candidate Adam Bernard won 1,573 for the Lib Dems.
 

3.30am: Theresa May - "We need stability"

The Prime Minister - for now - has just made a very emotional speech in her Maidenhead constituency, where she held her seat.

Looking drained and, frankly, beaten, Mrs May said it was vital for the country to have a period of stability.

She said the Conservatives were likely to be the biggest party in the Commons, and to win the most votes - it seemed to be an indication that she would attempt to stay on and form a government.

That might be possible - there are indications that with DUP support from Northern Ireland the Tories might hold on. But confidence in Mrs May has been utterly shredded.

She might cling on for a short time, but the knives will be out...so who will come next? Boris Johnson? Amber Rudd? It is hard to see who could salvage this. 

3.15am: A bad night for the Lib Dems

Over in Cambridge, Labour's Daniel Zeichner has seen off the challenge of the Liberal Democrats' Julian Huppert.

Mr Zeichner won the seat from Mr Huppert in 2015, with the former MP hoping to make a comeback at this election. But it was not to be.

Two years ago Mr Zeichner won with a majority of just under 600. Tonight he romped home, beating Mr Huppert by more than 12,000 votes. 

Meanwhile, Julian Lewis has easily held his seat of New Forest East. The Jewish Tory MP received more than 32,000 votes, with the second placed Labour candidate receiving less than a third of that amount.

Richard Harrington has retained his Watford seat, despite his majority narrowing considerably.

The Jewish Conservative MP kept his seat two years ago with a majority of 9,794.
 
Tonight, however, he has held on to his seat with a majority of just 2,092, with a huge shift towards Labour, while the Liberal Democrat vote is half of what it was two years ago, going from more than 10,000 to just over 5,000.

3.10am: Luciana Berger holds her seat

A tremendous result for Luciana Berger in Liverpool Wavertree.
 
The Jewish Labour Movement parliamentary chair increases her 2015 majority to 29,466 - landing 34,717 votes.
 
It is the third time Ms Berger has been elected to the seat for Labour. She gave birth to her first child in March. 

 

2.50am: Another shock, this time in Scotland

 

This is a big one for Scottish Jews, the majority of whom live in East Renfrewshire. Their new MP will be Tory Paul Masterson, who has overturned Kirsten Oswald's 3,718 majority.

Meanwhile, Nick Clegg, the former Deputy Prime Minister and ex-Lib Dem leader, is beaten in Sheffield in one of the biggest upsets of the night so far... although I fancy there's a few more to come...

2.45am: Ivan Lewis wins again in Bury South

Another Labour veteran retains his seat - this time it's Ivan Lewis in the Manchester constituency of Bury South.

One in 10 voters in the area are Jewish and there were fears in the Lewis camp that opposition to Jeremy Corbyn's handling of the antisemitism crisis might scupper his re-election efforts.

But Mr Lewis actually increased his majority - to 5,965. He finished on 27,165 votes, beating Tory candidate Robert Largan who received 21,200 votes.

 

2.20am: Jewish MPs elected

Louise Ellman wins again - and big - in Liverpool.

Jonathan Djanogly has held his seat for the Tories in Huntingdon. Mazeltovs all round!

1.55am: RESULT: Oliver Dowden (Con) HOLDS Hertsmere

Our first definitive result in a seat of key Jewish interest - and it's no surprise: Oliver Dowden has been re-elected for the Conservatives.

In one of the safest Tory seats in the country, Mr Dowden has secured a majority of 16,951.

He received 31,928 votes, beating his Labour rival Fiona Smith, who received 14,977 votes.

1.26am: Lee Harpin is at the count for the three Barnet seats, where a huge shock looks to be on the cards:

Good morning from the Barnet count where I am hearing quite sensational news.

Labour sources tell me they are "quietly confident" of victory in all three seats in the borough - yes Finchley and Golders Green, Hendon and Chipping Barnet.

"Something is afoot in most of London," said the source.

"It's looking close in all three Barnet seats, which just wasn't imaginable even a few weeks ago."

Jeremy Newmark, Labour's Finchley and Golders Green candidate, is currently resting at home before returning for the declaration, which is not expected before 4am.

Sources say he is refusing to get carried away with predictions of a victory over Tory candidate Mike Freer.

But his better than expected performance seems to vindicate his decision to stand in the seat with Britain's largest  Jewish electorate.

Mr Newmark had been outspoken on antisemitism in his own party under Mr Corbyn.

But he has also stressed what he described as the "Jewish values" of the Labour Party.

00.35am: Daniel has some trivia, of a sort, from Manchester:

Bury South has only ever had a Jewish MP in the three and a half decades of its existence.

David Sumberg held the seat for the Tories from 1983 to 1997, and Ivan Lewis has held it ever since.

Will he keep it tonight and continue the seat's Jewish tradition? Or will Robert Largan of the Conservatives oust him?

Mr Largan is not Jewish, but is a long-standing supporter of the Conservative Friends of Israel, having described in vivid detail to the JC last month how his experience at the University of Manchester, seeing the rampant anti-Israel and antisemitic behaviour of groups on campus, had shaped his politics.

He also pointed out that if he were to win, he would be the same age - 30 - that Ivan Lewis was when he captured the seat in 1997.

00.20am: How's it looking out and about in the constituencies?

Away from the national picture - which is murkier than ever - there are some fascinating battles taking place in the constituencies which mean the most to the Jewish community.

Ilford North is a key battleground. Won by Labour's Wes Streeting in 2015 by fewer than 600 votes, it remains on a knife-edge tonight. Lee Scott, the Conservative beaten by Mr Streeting two years ago, is hopeful of winning the seat back tonight.

Ukip, which took more than 4,300 votes last time, has not fielded a candidate. If those votes all swing back to Mr Scott, it would be hard not to see him returning to the Commons. But the exit poll prediction, and news of Labour's vote holding up in London, suggests otherwise.

One source close to the Streeting camp suggests it is too close to call.

Intriguing. Read Lee Harpin's analysis of the seat from last week, here.

11.45pm: A couple of points worth considering...

And what about this? In two of the Sunderland seats declared already, the exit poll prediction was well off. The Tories are doing substantially better than was expected - in terms of swing - as JC columnist Jonathan Freedland points out:

11.30pm: Daniel has shocking news from Borehamwood in Hertfordshire:

A woman was videoed at a polling station today singing "vote Labour, get the Jews out", it has been reported.

The Borehamwood and Elstree Times said it had footage of the incident which it had decided not to publish. The paper said the incident happened at around noon outside Manor Way, Borehamwood.

The area is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the country. It lies within the Hertsmere constituency, a safe Conservative seat held at the last election by Oliver Dowden, with a majority of 18,461.

Michelle Vince, leader of the Hertsmere Labour group, told the Borehamwood Times she was "horrified and shocked" at the antisemitic behaviour, and had made a complaint to the police about it, asking for it to be investigated.

"This is not a vote that we want,” she said. 

"We are asking to see images of the person and if they are a member of the party they will be expelled.

"We will always challenge this behaviour as racism of any form cannot be tolerated.”

11.05pm: Here is JC editor Stephen Pollard's analysis:

I wish I could pretend I saw this coming. But I am as blindsided by it as everyone else.

That said, I wrote on our site earlier today: "The Tory campaign was, to be blunt, rubbish...there was no clear theme, and a real sense of purposelessness from the Tories. Mrs May clearly thought that not being Jeremy Corbyn was enough...I would stake my mortgage that she will not lead the Tories into another election."

It now seems that she won't lead the Tories into the weekend.

If Mrs May has any sense of decency she will resign. She gambled the country's future on boosting her own position - and voters told her what they thought of that.

In truth, as I have pointed out many, many times before, she was a very average Home Secretary with a poor track record on tackling Islamist radicalisation - supposedly her strong point.

I bought into the idea for a while that her sober personality would be a strength, but clearly that was wrong and voters had others ideas.

What we know now is that she offers precisely nothing as a leader, either to the Tories or the country. Even if the exit poll is out by 20 seats, this is a catastrophe for the Tories (and, in my view, the country - but we will deal with Mr Corbyn later).

Which is probably what lies behind the text I've just had from a senior Tory, saying that Mrs May will be gone by the weekend.

10.30pm: The BBC has used the exit poll to project results in every seat - and have a series of huge shocks in seats with Jewish interest.

It claims there is a 91 per cent chance of Jeremy Newmark, Jewish Labour Movement chief, taking Finchley and Golders Green from Conservative Mike Freer.

There's also a reported 75 per cent chance of Mr Newmark's JLM colleague Mike Katz winning neighbouring Hendon from the Tories.

It's probably too early to speculate, but if two Jewish candidates help hand Jeremy Corbyn the keys to Number Ten... step back, there will be fireworks.

 

10.10pm: Well, well, well... the exit poll is a jaw-dropper:

If this outcome comes to pass with tonight's results, Theresa May quite probably will be gone as Prime Minister, and a potential progressive coalition would be a few seats ahead. Are we days away from Jeremy Corbyn becoming PM?

This exit poll will cause a tsunami of shock for politicians and their supporters on every side of the political spectrum. It's almost impossible to predict what would happen next - a coalition? Another election? And then what, another referendum?

If you're questioning the accuracy of the poll, no exit poll has ever been out by more than 20 seats...

 

9.45pm: Welcome to tonight’s JC election results live blog with me, Marcus Dysch, and my colleague Daniel Sugarman.

We will be keeping you up to date on the news and results in constituencies across the country with Jewish interest, as well as analysing the national picture and watching out for Jewish candidates who have been elected to Parliament – or missed out.

There will of course be updates on how the major parties are getting on and, ultimately, who is likely to be Prime Minister.

Over the course of the past two months we’ve charted the ups and downs in seats with large proportions of Jewish voters, and tonight we will find out whether their efforts have been worthwhile.

In particular we will look out for the seats of Hendon and Finchley and Golders Green, where our colleague Lee Harpin will be live at the counts. There will be updates too on constituencies including Ilford North, Hampstead and Kilburn, Bury South, and others.

The first indication of how the night might go for the main parties will come shortly with the release of the exit poll as polling stations shut at 10pm. We will have full analysis of what that means for the community a little later.

It may have been a lacklustre campaign, but it promises to be a remarkable night – stay with us until after dawn, when we will know what direction Britain is likely to take in the next few years.

While we're waiting for the coverage to start in earnest, here's a terrific topical poem for fans of William Carlos Williams, and anyone who has been taken in by the 'don't vote in pencil' myth.:

Keen rivalry between Sunderland and Newcastle to be the first constituency to declare a result.

But Irene Lucas, returning officer at Sunderland, tells Sky News that the rumour that the timing on Sunderland's traffic lights is overridden to give the vans with the ballot boxes a clear run 'is a myth.'

Less than an hour to go until the polls close.

Looks like our web editor didn't have enough to do today…

Not that we've entered a bit of a lull in proceedings but Sky News's Niall Paterson has just explained to viewers how he got locked in the toilet earlier this evening.

While we're waiting for the coverage to start in earnest, here's a terrific topical poem for fans of William Carlos Williams, and anyone who has been taken in by the 'don't vote in pencil' myth.:

Keen rivalry between Sunderland and Newcastle to be the first constituency to declare a result.

But Irene Lucas, returning officer at Sunderland, tells Sky News that the rumour that the timing on Sunderland's traffic lights is overridden to give the vans with the ballot boxes a clear run 'is a myth.'

Less than an hour to go until the polls close.

Bit of basic but surprisingly necessary advice from John Mann…

JC lifestyle editor Keren David has a report of what seems to have been a worryingly common problem this year.

Phoebe Moss, 20 a Politics and Sociology student at Leicester University applied for a proxy vote, but it never came through from Haringey Council, so she came home to Crouch End to vote in the Hornsey and Wood Green constituency.

She said, from the train, due in at St Pancras at  8pm:  

"I think it's very important to vote. Young people are a big part of the electorate and we need to have our voice heard.  People that I don't agree with will go out and vote, so I should as well. And I never forget that people died so that I could have a vote."

The seat is held by Labour's Catherine West, but Phoebe is voting for Lib Dem candidate Dawn Barnes. "I've been impressed by the Lib Dem campaign, especially what they have to say about Brexit. And they are the only party who are now in the centre ground." 

Deputy editor Sarah Ebner calls in with a quick flavour of the atmosphere in Finchley;

Very busy at the count at East Finchley (Mike Freer's constituency of Finchley and Golders Green) with people queuing to vote. 

Also: overheard "Well, the Tory will win here, as the Jews don't like Jeremy Corbyn."

A quick update from South London
An enormous turnout in Bromley, where one polling station clerk told our web editor Michael Moran that he had 'never seen it so busy.' Voters were queueing to exercise their democratic right in the safe Conservative seat where local MP Bob Neill has commanded a comfortable majority since 2006.
Update from Ben Weich in Hampstead and Kilburn
Seventy-one-year-old Mervyn Druian was voting in Hampstead this afternoon, but he thoughts were 120 miles away on   the now-infamous banner in Bristol depicting Theresa May wearing Star of David earrings. 
 
"I've never seen anything like it. Why - just why?” Mr Druian said. 
 
It was "probably the most important election in decades,” he reckoned. “I suppose it's because of Brexit."
 
What was earlier a healthy stream of voters in Hampstead's Kidderpore Avenue has now slowed to a trickle. 
Another thing I've noticed after a day of chatting with voters is their extreme reluctance to make a prediction, either locally or nationally. Perhaps the electorate has learned its lesson from the 2015 election. And Brexit. And Trump. 
 
Fool me once, as they say. 

Latest update from Rosa Doherty in Finchley and Golders Green

Disappointment at our politicians’ efforts during the campaign is becoming a bit of a theme.

Alex Halfin, 78, braving the drizzle to cast his vote, complained: “There was not enough discussion about any of the key issues or what the future lies.”

Nonetheless, voting had added significance for him as a symbol of defiance in the face of the terror attacks  in Manchester and London.

“I was very upset by all of that. It was awful but we can’t let them stop us. Democracy should carry on.”

Ben Weich detects a certain ennui with the democratic process in Hampstead and Kilburn

There may also be a touch of voter fatigue among Hampstead's Jews, having been asked to go to the polls in major elections four times in three years. 

Local jeweller Enon Cohen told me he barely speaks about politics with colleagues. 

"Maybe yes, there have been too many elections recently. I'm voting now but I haven't in other ones," he said. 

The flow of voters has slowed here after a rush of ballots cast between 3pm and 4pm. 

One official from the local Conservative Party heard someone complain that it was "chaos" in mid-afternoon. 

There are a lot of families in this leafy part of north London. Perhaps one's democratic rights are best exercised between lunch and the school run. 

Rosa Doherty also discovers a touch of voter fatigue in Finchley and Golders Green

“God, it’s been dull!”

That’s the view of Jacob Geller who was voting in Hampstead Garden Suburb with his wife Franciosi this after.

The couple reckoned they had been “bored to death” by the election.

Mr Geller, 80, said: “Overall it is so disappointing. Nothing anyone has said has really stood out to me.”

Mrs Geller, who is originally from France agreed: “I always say what we need here is an English Macron, we need someone here with new energy and ideas and enthusiasm.

“Politicians here are so boring, they are dull they lack character. They make me want to switch off.”

A disturbing report from the West Midlands....

Muslim voters in the West Midlands seat of Walsall South have received, according to the Guido Fawkes blog,'dog whistle' text messages urging them to vote Labour,

The messages recommend Jeremy Corbyn as the only leader to promise a Palestinian state and warn that it is important for Muslims to votes because “other minorities have a greater say in the country than we do”.

Ben Weich is still talking to voters in Hampstead and Kilburn

Eighty-year-old Marlene Fenton complains that her part of Hampstead, has "gone down. It used to be more upper class. Now it's more left-wing."

Her priorities at the ballot box are "less immigration and more police on the street", she said. 

 A number of people in the area are likely to be hit by Jeremy Corbyn's increased taxes for the "top five per cent", Tory teller Marcelle Kapelus said. 

"On this side of Finchley Road and up there are one-bedroom flats going for over £1million."

More from Rosa Doherty in Finchley and Golders Green

Jedd Wise, 19, says he is thrilled to be casting him vote for the first time

He said: “It is exciting. I care about making things better for the whole of society.”

 He arrived at the polling station in Hampstead Garden Suburb with his mother Tracey. Her concerns were mostly to do with the state of the economy.

“We vote differently as a family,” she said

Rosa Doherty sends in an update from Finchley and Golders Green

At St Jude’s Church in Hampstead Garden Suburb Vivienne, 72, and Walter Muhlgay, 86, arrive to cast their votes.

It’s what they’ve done together at every election for the past 40 years.

This time round, the political parties’ campaigns have failed to impress, they say.

“I didn’t think much of it at all.  It was very poor from all sides. I didn’t see anyone on the street, we didn’t hear from anyone. It was all over very quickly,” Mrs Muhlgay said.

Our reporter Ben Weich has now moved on to Hampstead...

High winds outside of the polling station at St Luke's Church in Kidderpore Avenue in Hampstead are failing to deter voters, who have been arriving in a steady mid-afternoon stream. 

They might well be winds of change, with Jewish voters rallying against the stereotype of Hampstead being a hotbed of "Jewish Marxist intellectuals". 

"The complexion of this area has completely changed. This area is predominately Conservative now. And it's a mix between centrists and right-wingers," 67-year-old Susan Lee told me. 

Her little dog Ducia barked with approval. 

Paula Myers, 70, also said Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's association with "questionable elements" was an issue for her. 

Conservative activist David Neifeld told me, as in Hendon, Jeremy Corbyn was a key topic of debate with Jewish voters. 

"This is one of the top target seats for the Tories in London, for sure," he said. 

Here's a reminder of Hampstead's results last time around;

Hampstead 2015 Candidate Votes Share [%] 2010 comparison
Labour Tulip Siddiq 23,977 44.4 +11.6
Conservative Simon Marcus 22,839 42.3 +9.6
Liberal Democrat Maajid Nawaz 3,039 5.6 -25.6
Green Party Rebecca Johnson 2,387 4.4 +3.0
UKIP Magnus Nielsen 1,532 4.4 +2.1

Is Rose the oldest person voting today?

102 year old Rose was the oldest Jewish Care resident who chose to vote in person rather than by post. She commented “it’s something I have always done”.

As she was wheeled off the Jewish Care Mini Bus into the Polling station she told staff “I am excited, I am pleased I have come to be here and vote, it’s important”.

Matthew Offord is, unsurprisingly, encouraging Hendon residents to vote for him...

If you are yet to go and vote, and are still to make up your mind, this might help:

Rosa Doherty spoke to a range of communal organisations and charities to find out what policies they are prioritising.

Check out the thoughts of the Board of Deputies, Jewish Leadership Council, Union of Jewish Students and others, here.

 

Daniel Sugarman sends us a quick update from the Golders Green and Finchley constituency

Despite the rain, turnout appears to have been high at one particular Golders Green polling station, with canvassers outside telling us that at points there had been people queueing out of the door to vote.

Lib Dem candidate Jonathan Davies turned up briefly, but as he lives around the corner, it was more in the nature of a social call than a campaign stop.

Here's an overview of the state of play at the last election;

Golders Green 2015 Candidate Votes Share [%] 2010 comparison
Conservative Mike Freer 25,835 50.9 +4.9
Labour Sarah Sackman 20,173 39.7 +6.1
UKIP Richard King 1,732 3.4 +1.7
Liberal Democrat Jonathan Davies 1,662 3.3 -13.8
Green Party Adele Ward 1,357 2.7 +1.1

Our reporter Ben Weich is just back from Hendon where he bumped into Labour candidate Mike Katz.

 

Speaking to Jewish voters as they left the polling stations at Hendon School and nearby Hasmonean Primary School, the overriding themes of conversations with Jewish voters were Jeremy Corbyn, national security and who they’d prefer leading the Brexit negotiations.

One Conservative activist, Helene Pines Richman, said she thought the turnout would be “very high” this year.

There was a steady stream of voters around noon. Most said, interestingly, that whatever the result, Theresa May’s credibility has taken a hammering over the course of the campaign.

“She’s had to work very hard to goof up that huge gap in the polls she had,” Hendon resident Jason Ezekiel remarked.

When asked if the Jewish community is reluctant to vote for him because of Jeremy Corbyn, Hendon Labour candidate Mike Katz said it would be “a lie” to say he didn’t hear that on the doorstep.

But he said that, whatever the result, he will continue to try to prove that “Jewish values are Labour values”.

Here's a look at how things turned out in the constituency last time around; 

Hendon 2015 Candidate Votes Share [%] 2010 comparison
Conservative Matthew Offord 24,328 49.0 +6.7
Labour Andrew Dismore 20,604 41.5 -0.6
UKIP Raymond Shamash 2,595 5.2 +3.2
Liberal Democrat Alasdair Hill 1,088 2.2 -10.2
Green Party Ben Samuel 1,015 2.0 +0.9

The BBC has tweeted some video of an altercation between journalists covering the election in Tim Farron's constituency in Westmorland and Lonside. 

We're off to the polling stations to see what ordinary voters are saying about the most divisive general election in decades. Check back soon for updates.

See all our Election 2017 coverage here

In the meantime, here are some stories from the campaign trail:

Labour faces fight to overturn Tory majority in Harrow East

 

Too close to call? Ilford North is the seat on a knife-edge, again

 

Labour man grilled at Leeds synagogue hustings

 

Lena Dunham endorses Jeremy Corbyn as the next Prime Minister

 

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