NORTH East mayor Kim McGuinness has welcomed the general election results that brought historic success for Labour across the region.

The party won 26 of the 27 seats in the North East, with only Stockton West being held by the Conservatives. The result included historic wins in Hexham and North Northumberland, where the party had never achieved victory before.

The Conservatives also lost seats in Redcar, Middlesbrough, Darlington, Hartlepool and County Durham.

READ MORE: Hexham's constituency turns red in historic election win

Ms McGuinness, who was only elected herself in May, can now look forward to working with more than 20 Labour colleagues across her patch, after the Conservatives suffered a total wipeout across the entire North East mayoral area.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service following the final declaration of the night the Northumberland count in the early hours of Friday morning (July 4), the mayor said that it was now important for the party to deliver on its promises to the electorate.

She said: “What a night. I’m absolutely ecstatic with the results right across the region.

“It’s an absolute privilege to serve alongside 21 Labour MPs who the people of the region have put their trust in. It has been a fantastic night, particularly in Northumberland.

“Now it is time for us to deliver. People have felt very let down by the Tory Government.

“I have spoken a lot about the need for change – we need to make sure we deliver that change. It’s an extremely exciting time.

“I look forward to working with every single one of the North East MPs and Keir Starmer to make our brilliant region even better. I feel incredibly optimistic.

“We had an incredible campaign and there are a lot of people in the party that deserve to feel very proud. The conversations I had on the doorstep showed that people are ready for change, and that has been reflected.”