Your guide for general election night 2024

After six weeks of campaigning, we are finally here. The bongs of Big Ben at 10 p.m. mark the end of voting across the UK and the start of an election night full of drama. Labour are set to make huge gains at the respective expense of the Tories in England and the SNP in Scotland. The Liberal Democrats will try to topple as much of the ‘blue wall’ across the south as possible, while Reform will hope Nigel Farage, Richard Tice and Lee Anderson enter the new Commons too.

Following the publication of the exit poll, there is then a lull until shortly before midnight when the first seats in the north-east of England come in. Around 1 a.m. we get East Kilbride & Strathaven, Hamilton & Clyde Valley and Rutherglen to provide a first indication of patterns of voting in Scotland. After that, the flow of results begins to pick up, with just over 60 seats due to declare between 2 a.m.