In pictures and video: Ian Austin holds on for Labour in Dudley North while Conservatives hold rest of the borough and Wyre Forest

Click on each of the constituencies below for the latest on each area:

• Dudley North

• Dudley South

• Stourbridge

• Halesowen and Rowley Regis

• Wyre Forest

Our reporters were tweeting live from the counts:

Dudley North

Tension was high as candidates in Dudley North prepared for the one of the closest election counts in the Black Country.

Ian Austin (Lab) - 15,885

Les Jones (Con) - 11,704

Bill Etheridge (UKIP) - 9,113

Will Duckworth (Green) - 517

Mike Collins (Lib Dem) - 478

Rehan Afzal (Apni) - 156

David Pitt (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition) - 139

Result: Labour hold Majority: 4,181

Turnout: 62.6%

2010

Lab 14,923

Con 14,274

Lib Dem 4,066

UKIP 3,267

BNP 1,899

National Front 173

It has been a drama-packed campaign with resignations, high-profile support and big community issues muscling in on national loyalties, but Labour's Ian Austin retained his seat with a majority of 4,000.

Five years ago, Labour's Ian Austin secured a slim 649 majority which was so hotly contested it forced a re-count the following day before he sealed a second term.

And this year's election bid has been just as fierce in one of the key marginal seats at the General Election.

Mr Austin said: "I want to thank the people of Dudley for giving me the opportunity to serve the town and stand up and fight for them for another five years. It is a massive honour and a great privilege and I'm very grateful to them."

When asked about his increased majority he said: "I don't want to claim the credit personally. "Lots of people have helped. We have had a very strong camp. We have worked very hard on this. And it looks like the hard work has paid off.

"I think we set out some clear ideas to people in Dudley. Trying to save jobs in the hospital, trying to keep the police station open and trying to improve things in the town centre.

"Although some of things may be difficult now with a Tory government and a lot more cutbacks.

"Trying to make education and skills the number one priority for Dudley is important so that we can attract the new jobs and investment that our prosperity will depend on in the future. That is the case we set out and the people of Dudley voted for it."

But local issues have also been on the tip of the tongue for voters keen to hear candidates take on the picture in Dudley.

The future of services at Russells Hall Hospital, the controversy over a new mosque being built in Dudley and the impact on trading due to far right place demonstrations have also been discussed.

Conservative candidate, and second placed in the Election outcome, Les Jones said: "In the circumstances it is a good result. I was hoping it was closer than that and I surprised that the gap was that big.

"I'm feeling quite proud of the team and what we have achieved in such a short space of time against the odds."

Speaking of the resignation of former Conservative candidate Afzal Amin and its impact on the party's campaign, he said: "If it had happened 12 or 15 weeks ago then may be things would have been closer still. In the circumstances it is hard to see what the UKIP impact was, but they clearly did get a fair number of votes but what we have got to do is address that and bring those votes back.

"As things turned out, I was quite outspoken about what happened and I do hold the view that we must all work hard to regain the trust of the people in the political process and I would like to think that I've gone some way to doing that."

UKIP candidate Bill Etheridge had been seen as the main challenger to Labour with party leader Nigel Farage admitting he fancied their chance of causing an upset.

"We have run a great campaign. I feel very proud of what we have done. We have given it some wellie," said Mr Etheridge who is already a Dudley councillor and West Midlands MEP.

"Personally I'm disappointed as it is my lifetime ambition to represent the people of my area as an MP and I can think of no greater honour.

"From a UKIP point if view, we have more than trebled our vote I believe. We have played a really strong part in this. We have fought a great, positive campaign. We have done well in every single ward in this constituency. I think it bodes well for the future. We have got a lot of positives to take from this. We regroup, we'll learn from what's happened we will push on and next time we will come back stronger."

He added: "I think the areas where we did particularly well was where we bit into the Labour vote. "What we haven't done is managed to bite into the Conservative vote.

"A lot of people got frightened about their negative campaigning about the SNP and it did suck some of our support away from us. I think that is a shame as I believe in positive campaigning and putting forward a vision for the future rather than just trying to terrify people about some bogeyman.

"But it worked on the day, knocked us down and took our challenge away from winner and ended up with an increased Labour majority.

"Vote Tory, get Labour."

The Conservative party faced a late battle to regain trust in the constituency after its former candidate Afzal Amin stood down following controversy.

In a bid to engineer support then candidate Afzal Amin held discussions with the English Defence League over staging a bogus demonstration in Dudley which could be called off at the last minute.

In stepped former council leader Les Jones who was tasked with winning back the trust of voters.

Other candidates in the constituency include Mike Collins of the Liberal Democrats, Dave Pitt from the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition and Rehan Afzal standing for the Apni Party.

Returning officer Sarah Norman, who has recently taken her role as chief executive of Dudley Council, thanked dedicated volunteers for attending to count ballots into the small hours.

"We have such a good group who have done it for years and they keep coming back," she said.

"Accuracy is more important than speed. It takes as long as it takes."

Dudley South

The Dudley South result was looking like being very close with both Conservatives and Labour in confident mood, but in the end the Conservative's Mike Woods gained a majority of 4,000.

Mike Wood (Con) - 16,723

Natasha Millward (Lab) - 12,453

Paul Brothwood (UKIP) - 7,236

Vicky Duckworth (Green) - 970

Martin Turner (Lib Dem) - 828

Result: Conservative hold Majority: 4,270

Turnout: 63.3%

2010

Con 16,450

Lab 12,594

Lib Dem 5,989

UKIP 3,312

"It has been a long day, but a positive one out on the final push," said Mr Woods.

He said it felt like the UKIP support in the area had collapsed.

UKIP candidate Paul Brothwood said the feedback on the doorsteps had been 'fantastic.'

Green Party candidate Vicky Duckworth, a former teacher, said she had had a good reception during her campaign. It is the first time she has stood in an election.

Labour candidate Natasha Millward was a late arrival at the count, but had a big team keeping a close eye on the counting.

Ed Miliband made a late visit to the constituency in a bid to back Natasha Millward's campaign .

Issues surrounding immigration have been high on the list of concerns for many voters, worried by the major protests held in Dudley by the English Defence League.

The future of Russell's Hall Hospital has also been a big issue on the doorsteps with people worried at the loss of 400 jobs there in the next two years in a bid to save £14 million.

Stourbridge

Margot James (Con) - 21,195

Pete Lowe (Lab) - 14,501

James Carver (UKIP) - 7,774

Chris Bramall (Lib Dem) - 1,538

Christian Kiever (Green) - 1,021

Result: Conservative hold Majority: 6,694

Turnout: 66.6%

2010

Con 20,153

Lab 14,989

Lib Dem 7,733

UKIP 2,103

BNP 1,696

Green 394

Independent 166

It was a tense night in Stourbridge as candidates eagerly awaited the outcome of the election, but in the end the Conservative's Margot James was re-elected with a majority of 7,000.

Conservative Margot James went into the campaign defending a strong-looking majority of 5,164 from the 2010 election.

"The response from the people of Stourbridge during the campaign has exceeded my expectations," she said.

The seat had previously been a Labour stronghold for 13 years.

Ed Miliband's party had put its faith in Dudley Council leader Pete Lowe to turn Stourbridge red once more.

He is known in the town having represented Lye and Stourbridge North as a councillor since 2006.

He said the campaign had been 'exceptional' and that he had been 'inundated with support from throughout the community', but in the end his 14,501 votes were not enough.

He campaigned under the banner Born, Bred, Believes and even had a beer named in his honour during the campaign.

The big story during the campaign was accusations that he had mislead people over where he was born, which were made by UKIP candidate and MEP James Carver.

The revelation was quickly branded 'insensitive' and Mr Carver apologised to his opponent after Mr Lowe revealed the tragic circumstances of his birth and how he lost a twin brother.

Mr Lowe had been campaigning on how he was born in the constituency but Mr Carver said this was not true and emailed out a copy of his birth certificate proving he was born at the Women's Hospital in Wolverhampton in 1968.

However, the certificate states his parents lived in Delph Drive, Quarry Bank, which is part of the Stourbridge constituency.

People are allowed to purchase birth certificates for £9.25. The Government offers the service to people who want to research their family tree.

Mr Lowe explained his mother had been forced to go to Wolverhampton due to a complication with the pregnancy and later lost one of the twin boys she had been expecting.

Mr Carver, who said he raised 'a very valid point on paper', described his campaign as 'just brilliant' and said he expected UKIP to build up a huge base across Dudley borough.

Christian Kiever took part in his first election as candidate for the Green Party.

Halesowen and Rowley Regis

It's the seat that could decide the election - that was the view of Labour leader Ed Miliband on a whistle-stop visit to the constituency early last month.

James Morris (Con) - 18,993

Stephanie Peacock (Lab) - 15,851

Dean Perks (UKIP) - 7,280

Peter Tyzack (Lib Dem) - 905

John Payne (Green) - 849

Result: Conservative hold Majority: 3,082

Turnout: 59.1%

2010

Con 18,115

Lab 16,092

Lib Dem 6,515

UKIP 2,824

Independent 433

Few doubted that the Halesowen and Rowley Regis result had significance for the overall outcome of the election, and was balanced on a knife edge.

Defending Tory MP James Morris was desperately trying to fight off the feisty challenge of Labour rival Stephanie Peacock, a former teacher determined to give him - and the Conservative leadership - a lesson that reverberated throughout the country.

Though in the end it was Mr Morris who won with a majority of 3,000.

Delighted James Morris celebrated keeping his Halesowen and Rowley Regis seat with an increased majority and admitted he was surprised by the size of the win.

After sweeping to victory with a 3,182 lead over Labour challenger Stephanie Peacock he confessed: "If you had asked me just 24 hours ago for the anticipated size of my majority I would not have given you these numbers. Mind you, that was probably because of my innate modesty!"

He continued: "I made history at the last general election by being the first Conservative MP to be elected to any ;part of the Sandwell borough and now I am very proud to have been re-elected in a seat that Labour targeted. They put in lots of resources and hundreds of people in the expectation of winning the seat. They must be sorely disappointed.

"Our victory is testament to the positive campaign which we ran. The feed back on the doorstep was very good but we were never complacent.

"I feel that Labour ran a weak campaign. They seemed to believe that all they had to do to win was reach out to their own supporters."

Miss Peacock, who just hours earlier had told the Express&Star: "I remain optimistic but it is too close to call," left the count without further comment following the crushing defeat.

UKIP candidate Dean Perks said: "We can build on this result. I knew we were not going to win the seat but I am delighted that we did better than many people expected."

Lib Dem representative Peter Tzack commented after coming a distant fourth over 6,000 votes behind UKIP: "We were squeezed out by the other three parties. That is the nature of the electoral system of this country which must be changed."

Earlier in the night, when he arrived at the count, Mr Morris said: "It has been along day that started at 5am. Throughout the whole campaign there has been a lot of positive support but beyond that all I can say is that it is in the hands of the voters.

"It has been a privilege to be the local MP for the past five years. I have taken a practical hands-on approach to getting things done locally as a Member of Parliament."

Miss Peacock was a leading campaigner for Sylia Heal - the woman who held the seat for Labour from 1997 until her retirement in 2010 and repaid the favour by returning to the constituency during the campaign to support her former aid.

Miss Peacock, a 28-year-old official for the GMB union, maintained: "I'm a campaigner who wants to live in a fairer country where people play by the rules and are rewarded for hard work. Britain only succeeds when working people succeed. "Too many people in our area work more than 36 hours a week but still can't pay bills at the end of the month.

"When I see I see living standards declining I cannot stand by and watch it happen. I want to fight for our community at every level.

"I remain optimistic but this has been too close to call for the past two years and that is still the case.

"I think we did everything we could in the campaign. I have spoken to thousands of people throughout the constituency and have been really humbled by the amount of support I have received."

The Labour challenger grew up in Halesowen, lives in Cradley Heath and works in the constituency while the grandfather of was employed in a Halesowen steel works.

The other candidates all had the chance to have a significant say in the final outcome of the poll although they never had a chance of winning the nomination. The number of votes they took from the main challengers could have determined who emerged victorious.

Dean Perks representing UKIP forecast a narrow victory for Mr Morris and insisted: "We are going to save our deposit a and that will give us something to build on in the future but this is not going to be the shock result some predicted. It looks like James is going to hold onto the seat and we are going to do better than people expected."

Green candidate John Payne declared: "We would revive local government which has been shamefully neglected and repressed in recent decades."

Peter Tyzack the Lib Dem candidate confessed that he was only on the ballot paper to keep the party's flag flying. He said:"It is no better or worse than we expected but we have been squeezed out by the other three."

Wyre Forest

Mark Garnier (Con) - 22,394

Matt Lamb (Lab) - 9,523

Michael Wrench (UKIP) - 7,967

Dr Richard Taylor (NHA) - 7,211

Andy Crick (Lib Dem) - 1,228

Natalie McVey (Green) - 1,117

Result: Conservative hold Majority: 12,871

Turnout: 63.8%

2010

Con 18,793

Health Concern 16,150

Lab 7,298

Lib Dem 6,040

UKIP 1,498

BNP 1,120

Result: Con gain from Health Concern. Majority 2,643

The true battle for Wyre Forest appeared to be between the former independent MP and the Tory who took his seat.

Mark Garnier won the constituency in 2010 with a majority of 2,643 votes.

On his victory Mr Garnier said: "I feel very, very humbled. It's an extraordinary privilege to be elected to parliament, and to come back with a nearly 13,000 vote majority - 40% of the vote - is just amazing. I am so grateful to the people of Wyre Forest for not only this endorsement of the work I've done over the period, but to give me a chance to deliver even more.

"The most important thing to remember is that I'm a public servant. I work for th epople of Wyre Forest, and I want to improve everybody's lives by bringing more jobs, better wages, more long-term contracts, we need to get people on full-time contracts, and we need to bring more skills and training to the area in order to make sure we can really compete on the gloabal stage here in Wyre Forest.

"We're got a plan for the next five years - I want to be able to come back here in five years and say we've delivered."

"At 12 I have a meeting with a GP surgery. We're straight back in the saddle. I have just over four hours to try and get some sleep!"

Dr Richard Taylor had already defied the odds by representing it as an independent for two terms.

The fact that he lost by a relatively small amount when seeking a third said a lot about how well known he was for the campaign that first took him to victory, the attempt to restore an A&E department at Kidderminster Hospital.

Before that he was a doctor in the town for more than 20 years and will hope to press home his local ties on May 7.

The 80-year-old stood this time around under his original banner, with Independent Community and Health Concern, a party that has also held seats on the district council.

But he has recently returned to national prominence with the National Health Action party which he co-founded.

The group also put up a candidate in Stafford.

During his term in office Conservative Mark Garnier launched a bill in the House of Commons as part of his campaign to crackdown on high fuel prices in rural areas.

The bill proposed giving powers to the Competition and Market's Authority (CMA) to investigate and 'iron out' price discrepancies between cities and rural towns, on motorways, and between petrol and diesel. No doubt this will have struck a chord with many voters.

Labour had put forward Matthew Lamb, who says his party would save the NHS and tackle the cost of living if it formed the next government.

The 43-year-old grew up in the area and has experience as the district councillor for the St John ward in Worcester.

And since May 2013 he has been the cabinet member for 'cleaner and greener' on Worcester City Council.

Wyre Forest District Councillor Michael Wrench was standing for UKIP.

The party had been campaigning hard but it was an area where they had previously found it difficult to secure support.

Other candidates here were Andrew Crick of the Liberal Democrats and Natalie McVey of the Green party.