CALDER VALLEY: Scandals and famous families fail to stop win

The 47-year-old father-of-three polled 20,397 votes and left both Mrs Booth and the Lib Dems' Hilary Myers trailing way behind as they each topped 13,000.

The seat had been held by Labour's Chris McCafferty who announced she was not seeking re-election after winning the seat twice.

Afterwards, Mr Whittaker said: "It's a great majority. We fought our campaign on policies and did not take it down to the personal level.''

Asked if he was surprised at the size of his majority he said: "I fought this campaign to win – we have been fighting it for three years. We have fought it for three years as if the election were to be the month after.

"This is the first time I have been a candidate in a General Election and I am quite humbled. I feel very honoured that the people of Calder Valley have put so much faith in me to be their representative.''

He said his interest in politics stemmed from his teenage years in Australia when he used to argue with his late father, Frank, a left-wing, union steward and a boilermaker. He said: "My dad used to come home on a Friday night with a bag full of money with a list of everyone who had paid their union dues.

"I used to question their antics and why they went on strike. The final straw was when they went on strike because of the withdrawal of their chocolate biscuit allowance. I have wanted to be an MP since I was about 15 years old.''

For Mr Whittaker it was a day full of joy and happiness – as well as securing a notable victory he has a new love in his life, Huddersfield businesswoman Elaine Wilkinson.

But it was a poignant moment for his campaign manager, Calderdale councillor Amanda Byrne, who was his girlfriend until their recent split. She tried hard to hold back the tears as he gave her a victory embrace.

Mrs Booth said: "I'm obviously disappointed but Labour has done a lot for the Calder Valley and Craig had a three-year start on me. Labour will be back.''

For residents of Calder Valley it must sometimes have seemed as if an election squabble of some sort has been going on for years.

The drama started several when Tory candidate Sue Catling, a married mother-of-two, was forced out following allegations of an affair between her and the then Calder Valley Conservative Association chairman Barrie Henderson.

Her successor, Liz Truss, appeared to be a safe choice, but following the election in 2005 it was revealed that she had an affair with a member of David Cameron's frontbench team.

Mr Whittaker then suffered the indignity of having his sex life questioned in an anonymous email which the police were investigating.

Not long after, Labour's Janet Oosthuysen was chosen to represent the party the Yorkshire Post revealed that she had received a police caution for damaging her ex-boyfriend's car – something she had omitted to mention to party bosses.

They eventually chose Mrs Booth instead but she struggled given the bitterness over Ms Oosthuysen's treatment, as some of Labour's supporters elected not to turn out and help her campaign.