Labour have secured their first win of the night, with shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson holding on to Houghton and Sunderland South.
Ms Phillipson increased her majority to over 7,000, as the party hoped for similar results across the country.
But it was also the first blow for the Conservatives, who were pushed into second place by Reform UK – their rivals winning 11,668 votes compared to just 5,514 for the Tories.
Politics live: Tories to collapse in worst result ever, exit poll predicts
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer’s party looks set for a landslide victory after the exit poll projected it would win 410 seats overnight – with an overall majority of 170 in the Commons.
That compares to a prediction of just 131 seats for Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives – which would be the lowest seat tally in the party’s history – along with the expected loss of some big beasts, including Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
Labour’s deputy leader – and possibly the next deputy prime minister – Angela Rayner told Sky News that Sir Keir had “done a tremendous job in transforming the Labour Party and putting forward a programme for government that the country can get behind”.
Meanwhile, a Conservative Party spokesperson said: “If these results are correct it is clear that Starmer and Angela Rayner will be in Downing Street tomorrow – that means your taxes will rise and our country will be less secure.”
The Liberal Democrats are also looking likely to have a strong night, going from 11 seats to 61 in the poll, while the SNP could fall to as few as 10 seats – swapping with the Lib Dems as the third largest party.
Reform’s first real electoral test could see them win as many as 13 seats, according to the poll – with Nigel Farage almost certain to take Clacton.
And the Green Party could gain an extra seat, taking their total to two.
The results have started coming in after a six-week campaign, launched by the prime minister in the pouring rain in Downing Street.
He has faced a number of mishaps throughout the campaign, from his decision to leave D-Day early to his party becoming embroiled in a betting scandal.
