Pam Cox has been elected as Colchester’s new Member of Parliament after the constituency voted Labour for the first time since 1945.

The former Essex University professor won 18,804 votes to beat James Cracknell, who finished second with 10,554.

Reform UK’s Terence Longstaff took third with 6,664 whilst the Liberal Democrats’ Martin Goss won 6,393 votes.

Sara Ruth from the Green Party won 2,414 votes and James Rolfe of the Climate Party won 74 votes.

Mrs Cox took a deep breath when returning officer Pam Donnelly announced the results shortly after 2am on Friday morning.

In an acceptance speech, she described the outcome as historic.

She said: “I’d like to thank the returning officer, the police and all those who cast their votes here tonight.

“I would like to pay tribute to my fellow candidates for their fair and sporting campaigns.

“I am very proud though to stand here tonight as Colchester’s new MP.

“This is a historic result for us – Britain’s first city, founded over 2,000 years ago, has just elected its first woman MP and its first Labour MP since 1945.

“This landmark result has been made possible by my incredible campaign team, by the Labour councillors and previous candidates who worked for this for decades, and for our many dedicated members and volunteers, many of whom have worked absolutely tirelessly today and many days previously.”

She continued: “This result has also been made possible by a changed Labour party – a party which has won back the confidence of people around the country and now seeks to serve their interests above all else.

“Our victory tonight will draw parallels with that of the Atlee government in 1945 – that government transformed Britain, and its achievements from our National Health Service to our national parks remain woven into the fabric of our lives today.

“I stood for Labour in this election because I believe in the new missions for our time that will help us to match those historic achievements and will help people in all walks of life to thrive.

“As your new MP, I will work as hard as I can in Colchester to make that happen.”