Leading Labour politician Nigel Bell has welcomed the results of the General Election – which saw the party win seven Hertfordshire seats.

While Conservative leader of the county council Richard Roberts says it was "an awful night" for the Tories.

Before the election Labour didn't have a single Labour MP in the county – with all seats held by the Tories except Lib Dem held St Albans.

But now the Tories have just three MPs and Lib Dems two – with Labour winning seven of the county's 12 constituencies.

Cllr Bell – leader of the Labour group on the county council and a member of Watford Borough Council – admits to being "overwhelmed" by the scale of the "fantastic" success locally.

He says the results reflect the hard work of candidates and the message of the Labour Party – as well as residents' desire for change and to "get rid" of the Conservatives..

And now he says they is a responsibility to deliver on the trust voters have put on them for the good of Hertfordshire.

"Obviously I am pleased that we have a Labour government," he said. "But to see in Hertfordshire that we have taken the majority of seats, that's amazing.

And he added: "I think people were prepared to give a chance to a new changed Labour Party."

Cllr Bell says there is now a great opportunity for the county and its new MPs to work with the new Labour government – pointing to importance of growth and a new beginning.

Commenting on the results, Conservative Cllr Roberts also points to public dissatisfied with the parliamentary Conservative party. And he says residents voted accordingly.

He says there were "undoubtedly" mistakes made during the premierships of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss that have undermined the confidence in the national party.

But he also points to the "big damage" that had been done by Reform – suggesting that more Conservative MPs may have been elected if Reform had not stood.

And he said he is "really grateful" for those in Hertfordshire who supported Conservative candidates ."

Cllr Roberts says he has already written to congratulate all of the new MPs. And he says, "our message now is that Hertfordshire County Council will work with all new MPs".

Meanwhile the results have been welcomed by Green Party Cllr Ben Crystall – who is a member of Hertfordshire County Council and leader of East Herts District Council -who says the election marks "a historic turning point" for Hertfordshire.

He says that while many of the county's constituencies have been Conservative strongholds, the county's political landscape has now "shifted" – "as voters have spoken loudly and clearly in favour of change".

He says that he is "delighted" that Labour has won the General Election.

And welcoming the success of the Green Party nationally, he says their four MPs will push the government to be bolder, braver, and more ambitious for urgent action on the environment, tighter regulation of housing and funding for the  NHS and public services.

But he also admits to disappointment that the party did not win a seat locally.

He said: "Locally, the Green Party made huge progress too – I'm obviously disappointed not to have a local Green MP, but I'm proud that we received a significant proportion of the vote across our county.

"We stood more candidates than ever before – giving people across the region the chance to vote Green in ever greater numbers and I'd like to thank our candidates and our amazing campaign teams for their hard work and dedication."