Good Morning Britain was taken off air for a few minutes as presenters Charlotte Hawkins and Rob Rinder announced the results of the Runcorn and Helsby by-election recount.
09:09, 02 May 2025Updated 10:05, 02 May 2025
The hosts informed viewers they would be cutting to live coverage of the recount results for the Runcorn and Helsby by-election.
Good Morning Britain’s Charlotte Hawkins announced “breaking news” shortly after the ITV show began on Friday (May 2).
As the programme got underway, Charlotte and her co-host Robert Rinder informed viewers they would be cutting to live coverage of the recount results for the Runcorn and Helsby by-election.
The announcement came that Reform UK’s Sarah Pochin had emerged victorious in the tight race, winning by an incredibly narrow margin of just six votes.
This result represents a remarkable triumph for Nigel Farage’s party, seizing the seat from Labour, which had previously enjoyed a majority of 14,700 votes at the last general election.
The by-election for the Cheshire constituency was prompted by the resignation of ex-MP Mike Amesbury following his conviction for assaulting a constituent, as reported by Bristol Live.
“That’s the breaking news then, just in the last few seconds that Reform have won that by-election in Runcorn and Helsby,” Charlotte stated.
Describing the outcome as a “That is a seismic change. Just to repeat they have won that by six votes, that is what it came down to. They had to have a recount,” she reiterated the razor-thin victory margin and mentioned the necessity of a recount before moving on to Sarah Pochin’s acceptance speech.
“The people of Runcorn and Helsby have spoken. Enough is enough. Enough Tory failure, enough Labour lies, and I want to thank every one of you who were brave enough to put a cross against my name on the ballot paper,” Sarah proclaimed.
She expressed her gratitude, stating: “Every one of you who voted for change, every one of you who have put their faith in me as your next Member of Parliament for this constituency, which has such potential, and who have put their faith in Nigel Farage as the next Prime Minister of this country.”
She added: “It will be an honour and a privilege to serve this community. A community of hard working people who just want fairness. Going forward, I will do my best for Runcorn and Helsby… regardless of how you voted, and I will be accessible to you all.
“I’m in politics to serve, I’m in politics because I care, and I’m in politics to be a voice for those who need representation. I will serve you, I will care for you and I will speak for you.”
Alongside the Runcorn by-election, Reform secured its first mayoral seat in Greater Lincolnshire by a substantial margin of 39,584 votes.
Two other mayoralties up for election are Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, and Hull and East Yorkshire.
Good Morning Britain returns to ITV weekdays at 6am.
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