In the general election in Birmingham, the Tories say there is “great work” ahead

It was the moment political candidates across the country were nervously waiting for after weeks of campaigning. The clock had just struck 10pm and a general election countdown television screen at the ICC in Birmingham was tuned into the exit poll which ended up predicting a huge landslide for Labour.

Voters spent Thursday, July 4, having their say on the country’s next direction — and it looked like bleak news for the Tories. Results for hundreds of constituencies across the country were due in the early hours of Friday – including nine Birmingham seats at the ICC.

It remains to be seen how accurate the exit poll was, but members of Labor and other parties such as the Liberal Democrats and Reform were unsurprisingly upbeat as the counting began. John Cotton, leader of Labour-led Birmingham City Council, described the exit poll as “really encouraging”.

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He said growing the economy in the city and country, as well as focusing on public services, should be a “top priority” for a Labor government. Sharon Thompson, the council’s deputy leader, was positive about the exit poll, saying there had been “14 years of chaos” under the Tories and that she wanted to see the “city engine start again”.

Simon Phipps, the resigned Tory candidate for Selly Oak, said it was no surprise to people in the Tory camp. He said his party now had “a huge job trying to come together and win people’s trust”.

Offering an explanation for why the Tories were forecast to have a bleak election, he said there was a “push for change across Europe”. “Britain is not immune to this,” he said.

Roger Harmer, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Yardley, said he would be “delighted” if his party won around 60 seats nationally, as the exit poll initially predicted. “I think our policies on social care and health have resonated with people,” he said.

“People want to get rid of the Tories and they seem to have done just that,” he added. Another dynamic figure in the election count was 21-year-old Erin Crawford, the reform candidate for Selly Oak.

According to the exit poll, her party was on course to win 13 seats across the country. “Reform is an honest party,” she said. “They know the issues that matter.

“It’s one that has to do with the working class.” “I want change and I want better for people,” she added.

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