´óÏó´«Ã½

Neil Hudson wins 18,038 votes and is elected.

That is a big scalp for Marie Goldman in Chelmsford, which had been a Conservative seat since 1950.

She won 20,214 votes compared to her incumbent Tory rival Vicky Ford.

Ms Ford previously held a majority of 17,621.

That result will come as a huge disappointment for the Conservatives' Jackie Doyle-Price.

She had a majority of 11,482 but came third in the vote this morning, beaten to second place by Sophie Preston-Hall, of Reform.

It follows Labour taking control of the financially-challenged Thurrock Council in May.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has arrived at Clacton Leisure centre for the count declaration in Essex. Met by a scrum of photographers, Mr Farage said the results his party were achieving around the country were "truly extraordinary".

Image source, Matt Knight/´óÏó´«Ã½

Jen Craft has been elected in Thurrock, securing 16,050 votes.

It's all very quiet with regards to the Braintree and Witham constituencies, reporter Elliot Deady says.

The big names - James Cleverly and Dame Priti Patel - have not arrived yet, and the turnout figures are yet to be announced.

Thankfully there are lots of snacks on hand for the droves of hungry journalists waiting for something, anything to happen, Elliot adds.

Image source, Elliot Deady/´óÏó´«Ã½

We've had three seats declared in Essex so far, out of a total of 18.

Labour have gained Colchester from the Conservatives, with Pam Cox beating former Olympic rower James Cracknell to the role.

In Rayleigh and Wickford, Conservative Mark Francois successfully defended his seat.

And in Castle Point, Rebecca Harris also kept her job for the Tories in Parliament.

While at Clacton Leisure Centre, where the counting’s under way, Nigel Farage has been at a restaurant in the town with supporters from the local area.

We’re told the invite-only event was to "thank" the people of Clacton, reports Alex Forsyth.

Though the official declaration is not expected until about 03:30 BST, there’s a growing sense that the Reform UK leader is highly likely to win a seat at Westminster on his eighth attempt and become the town’s next MP.

He’s already released a video on social media saying "the revolt against the establishment is under way" based on the results that have come in so far.

At this early stage it seems the party’s performance could prove to be one of the stories of this campaign.

Image source, PA Media

Colchester has never returned a female MP - until now.

Pam Cox becomes the first woman to win the seat, and the city's first Labour MP since 1945.

She won 18,804 votes, with her closest rival, James Cracknell (Con), coming second with 10,554.

Image source, Ian Wyatt/´óÏó´«Ã½

The 26-point drop in the Conservative vote in Rayleigh and Wickford is easily the biggest fall in Conservative support in a seat ever, the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s polling expert Prof John Curtice says.

It is the fifth biggest vote drop in British election history.

Mark Francois did hold on to the seat, though.

A full recount is now taking place in the constituency of Basildon and Billericay, in Essex, which was most recently the seat of Conservative John Baron.

Hoping to win it is Conservative Party Chairman Richard Holden and Reform UK's Stephen Conlay, who earlier told the ´óÏó´«Ã½ he was "quietly confident".

The exit poll said it was pretty tight between the two. The ´óÏó´«Ã½'s Chris Mason, citing the Labour leader of the local council, says there's about 20 votes in it.

Rebecca Harris had a majority of 26,634 coming into this morning.

However, this has been reduced to just more than 3,000 votes over Keiron McGill, who comes second for Reform.

Image source, Ben McCarthy/´óÏó´«Ã½

Rebecca Harris holds onto her seat with 15,485 votes.

A recount is under way in south Essex, where Conservative party chairman Richard Holden is standing.

The ´óÏó´«Ã½â€™s exit poll predicts the final result is close between the Conservatives, Labour and Reform UK.

We are now not expecting the result to be announced for at least another hour.

Mark Francois has held the Rayleigh and Wickford seat since it was created in 2010.

He secured the Conservatives' largest majority in Essex in 2019 with 31,000 votes.

But this has been dramatically sliced to just 5,621 this morning, with Reform UK candidate Grant Randall coming second with 12,135 votes.

Image source, George Curley/´óÏó´«Ã½

Mark Francois has been elected with 17,756 votes.

We are still awaiting our first result to be announced here in Essex, as they begin to trickle in across the country.

Basildon and Billericay was due to be declared at 00:30 BST, as was Rayleigh and Wickford.

Due next on our slightly disrupted agenda is Castle Point, with seven minutes and counting...

Matt Knight
´óÏó´«Ã½ political reporter, Essex

From the lack of a new hospital in Harlow, to safety at night in Chelmsford, the general election across Essex has given people the chance to raise the issues that matter most to them.

This was a campaign with a significant difference from 2019, when Brexit was the only issue in town and delivered a strong Conservative vote with Boris Johnson as PM.

This time voters have been talking about the state of our rivers and seas, the cost of living and displaying a feeling of general decline at the way things are.

The Lib Dems, Labour and Reform have all campaigned heavily here, but they have a mountain to climb as all 18 seats in this county have been Conservative since 2015. Will that change tonight?