The headline story in York from the general election is the same as the case nationally - that Labour have won big.

Labour incumbent Rachael Maskell comfortably held York Central while Luke Charters beat sitting Conservative MP Julian Sturdy by almost 10,000 votes in a race many thought would be close.

York Outer in particular mirrors the national political story of the last 14 years, with Mr Sturdy losing the seat he won in 2010 when the Conservatives first entered government.

But beneath the Labour wins chalked up in York following this year’s general, the political ground seems to have shifted.

Compared to 2019, the Conservative vote collapsed in York Central, with the party going from 13,767 and second place almost five years ago to 5,383.

Although the Conservative Richard Hudson remained in second place, they were only narrowly ahead of Green Lars Kramm who finished third with 5,185.

The strong showing from the Greens may partly explain why Ms Maskell’s total was down from the 27,312 votes she got in 2019.

Ballot boxes arriving at the general election count at York Racecourse on Thursday, July 4Ballot boxes arriving at the general election count at York Racecourse on Thursday, July 4

The Greens upswing could mirror shifts away from Labour on the left over its position on the war in Gaza and general move towards the centre under Keir Starmer.

In both York Central and York Outer Reform UK appears to have eaten away at the Conservative vote from the right.

The party came fourth and third with 4,721 and 5,912 in York Central and York Outer respectively.

The results pushed the Liberal Democrats into fifth place in York Central and fourth in York Outer.

The number of votes cast for York Central candidate Alan Page dropped by more than 1,000, compared to 2019 finishing last out of the national parties.

Liberal Democrat fortunes were slightly better in York Outer where sitting councillor Andrew Hollyer won 5,496 votes, almost three times that of Green Michael Kearney.

The results stand in contrast to the party’s national performance which saw it go from eight to 71 MPs.

In fairness, this may be more of a reflection of the Liberal Democrats’ strategy to focus their resources on a select number of battlegrounds.

But it does beg the question of where the Liberal Democrat vote in York has gone, particularly in Outer where the party had an MP until 2010.

The other story emerging from the results is the drop in turn out in both seats, mirroring national trends which look set to be on course for the lowest in 20 years.

The turn out in York Central fell from 69 per cent in 2019 to 56 per cent this year.

Although the drop did not likely affect who won, it is clear more had reason to think that the election was not worth the trip to the polling station.

On the local front, Labour held on to its council seat in Hull Road ward in a by-election which took place on the same day as the general election.

Although the general election took centre stage, the result was no less significant because a loss would have spelled the end of Labour’s outright majority on York Council.

It turned out to be a battle between Labour, who won 1,203 votes, and the Liberal Democrats who got 1,008.

The Greens and Conservatives finished third and fourth respectively.