BEVERLEY & HOLDERNESS AND HALTEMPRICE & HOWDEN: Grip now tighter on rural east of county

Former Shadow Home Secretary David Davis more than doubled his majority in his Haltemprice and Howden seat which he famously resigned from during the last Parliament to fight a byelection.

He won by 11,600 votes, receiving almost double the votes of his Liberal Democrat opponent Jon Neal and achieving a swing of nearly seven per cent on a turnout of 69 per cent.

He said: "I'd like to thank my constituents who put their trust in me for the seventh time. I will continue to endeavour to live up to that confidence that they have shown in me."

Tory Graham Stuart more than quadrupled his majority in Beverley and Holderness as the Labour vote collapsed.

Mr Stuart achieved a majority of nearly 13,000 over Liberal Democrat Craig Dobson who beat Labour's Ian Saunders into third place as the turnout reached 67 per cent.

Yesterday Mr Stuart said his victory was due to "a lot of hard work" in the area.

"I've given a voice to a rural community which feels it has been dramatically let down by a Labour Government," he said.

"We have to tackle the deficit. People in East Yorkshire know that if you spend money you haven't got, you're not helping your family, you are burdening them and they know that Gordon Brown has done that to the country with this vast deficit."

He urged Mr Brown to stand aside immediately, adding: "The Conservatives have won the most votes and the most seats. It would be an absolute travesty if Gordon Brown didn't leave Downing Street – he would be letting the country down."