Sam Quine at the Preston vote count

Reporter Sam Quine is at the Guild Hall in Preston as the vote count for the Preston constituency gets underway.

Transcript

00:00Hi, my name is Sam Quine, reporter for Lancashire Post, and I'm here at the Guildhall in Preston

00:07as the vote count for the constituency during the general election has just got underway.

00:12There are 10 candidates in the running, some of which are here at the hall tonight, and

00:17I'm hoping to speak to some of them and get their thoughts throughout the night.

00:21The list of candidates is as follows. Yusuf Mohammed, Brahim Bailok, Independent.

00:27David Brooks, Alliance for Democracy and Freedom.

00:30Neil Darby, Liberal Democrats. James Elliott, Reform UK.

00:35Trevor Michael Hart, Conservative. Sir Mark Hendrick, Labour.

00:40Derek Killeen, UK Independence Party. Michael Lavalette, Independent.

00:46Isabella Mekov, Reiner, Green Party. And finally, Joseph Omeche, from Rejoin EU.

00:53Now, Preston has been a constituency represented in the House of Commons since 2000 by Sir

00:59Mark Hendrick, meaning the area has been largely dominated by Labour for many years.

01:05As well as the general election, there is one council by-election result that will be

01:10announced tonight in the Lee and Larches Ward, which is currently held by Labour.

01:15This is after former Mayor of Preston, David Barrow, stepped down from his role at the

01:20City Council. A few weeks ago, the Lancashire Post, alongside

01:24Bob Preston and the Lancashire Lead, held a hostings event where 6 out of the 10 candidates

01:29fielded questions on a number of topics, as well as deliver a short version of their manifestos.

01:36David Brooks said, it's about time somebody stood up who's not whipped, somebody independent,

01:42who's not pushed and he's not got an ideology. I just want to serve people with honest policies

01:48and truths that need to be told. Neil Darby said, my top priorities are to

01:53tackle the crisis in the NHS and social care system, tackle crime and tackle the ongoing

02:00cost of living crisis. I strongly believe that Preston deserves better.

02:04Trevor Hart said, my passions are education, the NHS and cutting out crime. They are so

02:10important and I'd like to bring them forward and try to help our city get better.

02:15Sir Mark Hendrick said, for the last 14 years as your MP, I've seen first hand many of the

02:21problems that people of Preston have faced and I've worked tirelessly to improve the

02:26lives of thousands who have suffered under the Conservative government. By electing a

02:32Labour government, we can achieve real change. Michael Lavalette said, I'm standing on behalf

02:38of Preston Independents as we feel the political parties do not represent us. I want to stand

02:43up for the people of Preston, putting them first and speak out in Westminster.

02:49Finally, Joseph Omechair said, if we are honest, all of us can see Preston is going downhill.

02:55Shops are closing and the place is less vibrant than it was before the referendum. Every vote

03:01you cast for rejoining EU sends a message that this issue cannot be avoided anymore.

03:07The count started at 11pm in the Guildhall foyer and the declaring announcement is estimated

03:12to be around 3.30am. So stick around as we deliver all the news from Vote Count Night.