BRADFORD EAST: Veteran Bradford Labour MP loses out to Liberal Democrats

Mr Ward praised voters for rejecting extreme right-wing politics, and said his triumph was down to "classic, good old fashioned community Liberal Democrat politics".

Bradford East is a new seat, which is mainly made up of wards from the old Bradford North seat. Mr Rooney had held Bradford North for 20 years.

Mr Ward polled 13,637 votes, while Mr Rooney received 13,272. Mr Ward took the seat with a notional 7.57 per cent swing from Labour to the Liberal Democrats.

When asked what the biggest election issue had been, Mr Ward said: "Without a doubt, it's jobs. It's an area that's got some of the most deprived communities in the whole of the country. We must get some jobs into the area."

Mr Ward said voters had "just had enough of Labour". He also pledged to devise a strategy to support manufacturing businesses in east Bradford.

In Bradford West, sitting Labour MP Marsha Singh increased his majority as he won the seat for the fourth election on the trot.

Mr Singh gained 18,401 votes, while the second-placed Tory candidate, Zahid Iqbal, polled 12,638. Mr Singh's notional majority rose from 3,050 in 2005 to 5,763; a 2.93 per cent swing from the Conservatives to Labour.

Mr Singh added: "It proves how hard I work for my constituents and the faith they have in me. I can work with every community. That's reflected in the result."

He said he hoped Labour could reorganise as a party and move forward.

He added: "People want a decent city and jobs in Bradford. Those are their priorities. There was some concern about MPs' expenses."

In Bradford South, sitting Labour MP Gerry Sutcliffe held his seat with a much reduced majority.

Mr Sutcliffe gained 15,682 votes, while Tory Matt Palmer polled 11,060.

Speaking afterwards, Mr Sutcliffe, who has held the seat since 1994, said Labour had to regroup and look to the future.

He added: "The important thing is that we get politicians to talk to each other. The thing that is really concerning people is the state of the economy."

He said politicians had to work together to ensure that the Greek financial crisis didn't spread to the UK.

Mr Palmer acknowledged that the Tories in Bradford had experienced mixed fortunes. Although there was frustration with Labour, this had not translated "in a uniform way" into votes, he said.

He added: "We have to look at why that is and how we make sure we are meeting the needs of the people of Bradford. That's going to be the challenge for the next few years."