10pm

Polls close, and the broadcasters’ exit poll is released – in five of the last six elections it has been extremely accurate. In 2017, it surprised most observers by accurately predicting that Theresa May would only be able to form a minority government.

11.10pm

Sunderland beat Newcastle to declare the first result in 2017. It is unlikely Labour will lose any of the six seats in the two cities, but the interest will be in how much the Conservatives or the Brexit Party take in leave-voting Sunderland, or in what happens to Nick Brown’s monster 19,261 majority in the studenty, remain-voting Newcastle East. And look for turnout: it was about 69 per cent nationally in 2017 and about 64 per cent in these Tyne and Wear constituencies – if people are tired of the interminable Brexit shenanigans or if both the man party leaders are as unpopular as is suggested, turnout could be lower.

0.41am

Middlesbrough was an early declarer, with Andy McDonald’s 13,873 majority being weighed rather than counted. However, this time he is being challenged by Antony High, who comes from the same independent stable as the town’s newly elected mayor, Andy Preston. It is Labour’s 38th safest seat, and Mr McDonald , the shadow transport secretary in charge of the policy to renationalise the railways, has had a prominent national role in the campaign.

0:51am

Darlington declared early in 2017, with Labour’s Jenny Chapman winning a 3,280 majority. It is the Tories’ 47th target seat. The town, which voted 58 per cent to leave, last elected a Conservative MP in Margaret Thatcher’s landslides of 1983 and 1987. Tuesday’s YouGov MRP poll – using a widely praised method which accurately predicted the 2017 result – had the Tories’ Peter Gibson six points ahead.

1.54am

If the Brexit Party is to win anywhere in the country, it will be in Hartlepool where it is standing its most high profile candidate, chairman Richard Tice, against Labour’s 7,650 majority. Hartlepool voted 69.5 per cent to leave the EU – the highest in the region – and the Brexit Party runs the council.

2.02am

Stockton South is a true bellwether: both Labour and the Conservatives have won the seat four times since 1987, and the latest YouGov MRP poll has the parties tied on 45 per cent. Labour’s Paul Williams is defending his 888 majority – the tenth smallest Lab/Con majority in the country. Will the formation of a localised remain alliance, through the endorsement by the LibDem candidate (see below), swing it his way?

2.54am

Bishop Auckland is the Conservatives’ 12th target seat – Dehenna Davison has to overturn Helen Goodman’s 502 majority if Boris Johnson is going to form a majority government. Ms Davison was five points ahead in the latest YouGov MRP poll. It would be historic: Bishop has never returned a Tory MP since it was formed in 1885, but Ms Goodman’s majority was 10,000 when she was first elected in 2005 and it has been slowly whittling away ever since. Ms Davison, 27, has gained plenty of national media attention over the campaign.

2.54am

Laura Pidcock will be returned in Durham North West, but probably with her 8,792 majority reduced – but will the 32-year-old become the next Labour leader? She is the 12-1 fourth favourite.

2.55am

There will be a new MP in the City of Durham as Roberta Blackman Woods is stepping down. This was the only part of County Durham to vote to remain, by 57 per cent, so if the LibDems have any hope in the North-East, it is here – but they will have to tackle Labour’s 12,364 majority.

3.08am

Sedgefield is the 91st Tory target seat, with Phil Wilson defending a 6,059 majority. Tony Blair’s former seat should be safe for Labour, but Tuesday’s YouGov MRP poll had the Tory candidate Paul Howell one point ahead.

3.21am

Middlesbrough South & East Cleveland, formerly known as Langbaurgh, is traditionally a marginal, and Simon Clarke, who as 6ft 7ins was Britain’s second tallest MP, had a majority of 1,020 in 2017. It is Labour’s 25th target seat, so Lauren Dingsdale needs to win if Jeremy Corbyn is to form a government. But the seat voted 65 per cent to leave, and Mr Clarke’s unequivocal Brexit stance won’t have done him any harm. The YouGov MRP poll had him ahead by 53 per cent to 39.

3.58am

Richmond declared just before the dawn in 2017, and it really isn’t worth staying awake for. If Rishi Sunak loses his 23,108 majority, the world will have turned upside down. However, Mr Sunak, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, has been one of the few politicians whose star has risen during the campaign. He has appeared on several TV debates without dropping a clanger, and Tory insiders say that the smart money is now on him becoming the first ethnic minority Prime Minister ahead of the previous favourite, Chancellor Sajid Javid. This most conservative of seats is also of interest because Labour is fielding Thom Kirkwood, who is said to be the first non-binary – neither exclusively male or female – Parliamentary candidate.

Don't forget to follow The Northern Echo's live blog on our website, starting at 9.30pm, with reporters live at all the local counts, bringing the results and reaction as it happens into the early hours