Carlisle has welcomed its first female MP as Labour's Julie Minns won the seat.

Labour has retaken the city after 14 years with 18,219 votes followed by the Conservative Party with 12,929 and Reform UK with 9,295.

The turnout for Carlisle was 59.25 per cent which was a decrease from 2019 which saw 65.9 per cent.

Speaking after she was named the winner of the seat at the city's civic centre, Ms Minns said she feels "incredibly privileged" to be in the position she is in. 

She said: "I feel incredibly privileged to be both Carlisle's Labour MP but particularly to be Carlisle's first female MP. 

"My entire family live here, my family go back generations. To be able to represent my home is immensely humbling and I can't wait to get on with the job."

Ms Minns, who was announced as Labour's candidate for the city in 2023, thanked former Conservative MP John Stevenson for "his public service to our great border city" in her acceptance speech.

"Whilst our politics may be different, John and his team have run a serious and respectful campaign," she added.

(Image: Newsquest)

It was a loss for Mr Stevenson who was first elected to the role in 2010 with a majority of 853. In the 2019 General Election, he had increased his majority by almost 10 times that to 8,319.

He said: "I'm obviously disappointed with the result. 

"It's been a privilege and an honour to have been the member of parliament for the last 14 years but we live in a democracy and that's the decision of the people of Carlisle which I fully respect.

"I wish my successor all the best in her time as an MP."

Ms Minns wasn't the only winner in Carlisle. Many of the other candidates standing were pleased that they were able to offer an alternative to the big two parties and to have laid the groundwork for future elections. 

(Image: Newsquest)

Stephen Ward, the candidate for Reform UK, expressed his surprise at the national outlook as predicted in the exit polls.

Gavin Hawkton, the Green Party candidate, was happy that his party was able to increase its share of the vote since they last stood a candidate for General Election. 

Helen Davison, currently a councillor on Cumberland Council, won 1,125 votes in 2015 whereas this year they had 1,922.

Mr Hawkton said: "I'm feeling positive, we've increased our vote share - we're positive about the results. 

"It's a positive result for the Green Party."

The Liberal Democrats also gained votes this time around. 

In 2019, candidate Julia Aglionby won 2,829 votes which this year's candidate Brian Wernham increased to 2,982. 

But, Mr Wernham was cautious about what a Labour super majority might mean.

"I think this is really worrying," he said earlier in the evening.

"Labour are only going to get two out of every five votes and they're going to have a massive super majority.

"People have been promised change but actually the Labour manifesto and all the promises that Keir Starmer has made have said that there won't actually be any fiscal change at all.

"It'll pretty much be business as usual except more competently run maybe.

"I think in two or three years time, people are going to be very upset that public services are not improving."