VIDEO: Chris Heaton-Harris wins Daventry constituency in General Election 2015

Mr Heaton-Harris defeated his rivals Abigail Campbell (Labour), Callum Delhoy (Liberal Democrats), Michael Gerard (UKIP) and Steve Whiffen (Green).

He said: “I’m delighted by the result, and pleased with what’s going on nationally. I’ve always believed in the common sense of the British people and that’s what we’ve seen nationally.

“I’m always humbled by the trust the people of this constituency put in me by voting for me, and I will continue to work hard to fulfil the needs of the town, district and constituency.”

An emotional Abigail Campbell (Labour) said: “I’m delighted. It’s good to come second and I’m really pleased with what we have done.”

Steve Whiffen (Green) said: “To go from 1.5 per cent of the vote five years ago to 3.5 per cent - more than doubling it - reflects the growth of the Green Party nationally. And giving the Lib Dems a close run here is great, especially as they came second in 2010.”

Michael Gerard (UKIP) said: “We have trebled our vote which is fantastic, and our share of the vote in the Daventry constituency reflects the picture for UKIP on the national level.

“It’s worth bearing in mind this is the fifth safest Tory seat in the country and for us to increase our vote by this level in five years is certainly something UKIP can build on for coming elections.”

Callum Delhoy (Liberal Democrat) said: “I think it went well. As Chris said, it has been a very courteous campaign, as candidates we have all liked each other and it is a model for how politics can be done.

“It would be amiss of me not to mention the national picture where the Lib Dems have been decimated in this election - but it does mean we can now build our party up again from the grassroots to regain the position we had.”

The count was held at Daventry Leisure Centre.

The full results were as follows:

Abigail Campbell (Labour): 9,491

Callum Delhoy (Liberal Democrats): 2,352

Michael Gerard (UKIP): 8,296

Chris Heaton-Harris (Conservative): 30,550

Steve Whiffen (Green): 1,829

In 2010 the Daventry constituency was won by Chris Heaton-Harris for the Conservatives who took 56.5 per cent of the vote, and 19,188 more ballots than the second place Liberal Democrat candidate who took 19.4 per cent of the votes.

Third was Labour, followed by UKIP, the English Democrats and then the Green Party.

The Daventry constituency boundary remains unchanged from 2010, and consists of the Daventry district plus Milton Malsor, Kislingbury, Gayton, Harpole and Rothersthorpe, Bugbrooke, Nether Heyford and Upper Heyford, which are in South Northamptonshire District, and Sywell and Mears Ashby in the Borough of Wellingborough.

The seat existed from 1918 to 1950 and was recreated in 1974. It is considered one of the safest Tory seats in the region, having always returned a Conservative MP – or a Tory who became the Speaker of The House – since 1918.#