By election live: Labour takes momentous wins in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire - full results

The polling company Survation has just released the results of its latest survey in Mid Bedfordshire, which was carried out last month. Polls here have been rare, but it puts Labour and the Conservatives neck and neck on 29%. The Lib Dems are a bit further back on 22%.

The poll also looks at which party voters were trying to keep out, with 68% saying they wanted to stop the Tories while 25% said they wanted to stop Labour.

I am in Tamworth and the count is now underway for the town’s by-election with the result expected in the next few hours. The hall is bustling with party candidates and local councillors.

A Labour source said the party is “in with a shot” to win the by-election even though it would be “unusual” if the party did. He said even though the area is mainly a Conservative area, Labour are “in with a chance” and the odds are tight.

The Tories have held the Tamworth seat since 2010, and their candidate Andrew Cooper will be hoping to continue their hold on the area. While Labour will be hoping to repeat its 1996 win in the Tamworth which happened a year before they went on to win a landslide at the 1997 general election.

Turnout in Mid Bedfordshire is 44%, which is fairly average for a by-election - especially with the inclement weather. The staff here are still saying they're on track for a declaration between 1.20am and 2am.

UKIP’s candidate, Robert Bilcliffe, told NationalWorld that he doesn’t think UKIP will win Tamworth’s by-election, claiming that the Reform Party “turning up” in the area has had an affect. Another UKIP party member also said a lot of their voters are turning to the Reform Party instead.

Bilcliffe added that he has “never understood why people keep voting for Labour or Conservative because they seem to have let the British people down on many occasions”. He said that he is particularly “disappointed” with the former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair for two reasons.

He told NationalWorld: “I’m very disappointed with Tony Blair on two occasions - one that he went to war on a lie and the other that he wanted to change the mere fabric of Britain with multiculturalism. It hasn’t worked, it has failed because there are paralleled communities”.

One of the first things I was told when I arrived at the Mid Bedfordshire count was that Labour's support in the towns of this rural constituency had increased. Apparently volunteers were doing a great job of getting out the vote today - which is ensuring registered supporters get down to the polling station.

Now the Lib Dems are saying they think Labour might have won, which would be an astonishing victory. Remember Nadine Dorries had a majority of almost 25,000 at the 2019 general election.

Labour however aren't saying anything, and it still feels as if a lot of people are unsure which way this race is going to go.

Labour’s candidate, Sarah Edwards, has arrived at Tamworth’s by-election. She recieved a cheer as she walked through the hall.

The Conservative candidate, Andrew Cooper, is expected to arrive imminently. The results are expected to be announced in the next hour.

The actual count in Mid Bedfordshire is in a very small room, so very few people are allowed in at a time - which makes judging the state of play difficult. So journalists are really relying on candidates for their information.

And like the Lib Dems, Flitwick independent candidate Gareth Mackey thinks Labour have just pipped the Tories. He told NationalWorld: "I think Labour have done it, if not it's very close between them and the Conservatives."

Labour figures however are still keeping their cards close to their chest.

Labour has won in Tamworth. Sarah Edwards has overturned the Tories' 19,634 majority in a seismic result.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said: “This is a phenomenal result that shows Labour is back in the service of working people and redrawing the political map.

“To those who have given us their trust, and those considering doing so, Labour will spend every day acting in your interests and focused on your priorities. Labour will give Britain its future back.”

Lab gain from Conservative