EU Referendum result: Birmingham votes LEAVE with narrow majority

Wild celebrations ensued from vast sections of the large crowd of Brexit backers at Birmingham's International Convention Centre as the presiding officer announced that Leave had edged home by taking a shade over half of the vote.

Results were declared at 4.40 this morning, with 50.4 per cent voting to exit the union. Leave received 227,251 votes to Remain's 223,451. A total of 614 ballot papers were spoilt.

Turnout was high with 451,316 people voting across the city's 40 wards, which equates to 63.7 per cent of the total electorate. Around 700,000 residents were eligible to vote in the referendum.

• More: Live coverage from the local counts in the West Midlands

• More: The national picture as Brexit surges to victory

Council leader John Clancey voted to stay in the EU, having warned that quitting the union would cause serious damage to the local economy and put thousands of jobs at risk.

As the referendum day dawned he argued that leaving the EU would be 'bad for Birmingham and bad for the nation'.

The Labour councillor said this morning: "When it comes down to it this has been a fantastic exercise in democracy that has illustrated what a great city Birmingham is.

"There have clearly been long queues at a lot of polling stations across the city, which is an administrative problem I've been happy to have."

Eight of the city's MPs had backed Remain in the referendum, with just two campaigning for Brexit.

The ICC, which also acted as the count ratification area for the West Midlands region, saw anxious Leave and Remain supporters gather outside from the moment polls officially closed at 10pm yesterday.

The main section of the giant hall was crammed with staff sifting through the votes from Birmingham's hundreds of polling stations.

Birmingham had been expected to vote Remain on the back of various pre-referendum polls across the city. It was considered to be one of the most pro-Europe cities in the country.

The shock result was considered a crucial marker in the overall national picture.

The first ballot box from the city arrived from the Ladywood count at around 10.15pm.

Meanwhile results from around the country were beamed onto a large screen into the ICC.

Remain backers had been bullish early in the proceedings.

Erdington MP and Shadow Policing Minister Jack Dromey tweeted: "Proud of my country. I have voted for Britain to Remain truly Great Britain, leading at the heart of Europe."

Yardley MP Jess Phillips spent most of yesterday campaigning around her constituency in one final push for the Remain vote.

She said she was proud of the help she had received from committed volunteers during the campaign and paid tribute to Jo Cox, the Labour MP who was shot and stabbed to death last week.

She tweeted: "I voted to Remain. I voted for my friend Jo Cox and remembered our democracy and togetherness is worth fighting for."

Hodge HIll MP Liam Byrne was another of the city's politicians who spent the day in his constituency campaigning for Labour In For Britain.

He said the referendum had shown that Labour had erred in failing to properly address concerns over immigration.

By the time the declaration was made the large hall was home to Leave backers only, as Brexit began to take a grip on the EU referendum.