General election: Conservative Robert Goodwill is re-elected

Labour's Eric Broadbent and Conservative's Robert Goodwill on stage for the count results at Scarborough Spa for the 2017 General Election. 172202b
Thursday 8 June 2017. Picture: Ceri Oakes — Labour's Eric Broadbent and Conservative's Robert Goodwill on stage for the count results at Scarborough Spa for the 2017 General Election. 172202b Thursday 8 June 2017. Picture: Ceri Oakes

Conservative Robert Goodwill has been re-elected as MP for Scarborough and Whitby for the fourth time.

The Immigration minister retained his seat with a reduced majority of 3,435 in the face of competition from Labour’s Eric Broadbent.

The results are as followed:

Robert Goodwill (Cons) - 24,401

Conservatives celebrate a win during the count results at Scarborough Spa for the 2017 General Election. 172202e
Thursday 8 June 2017. Picture: Ceri Oakes — Conservatives celebrate a win during the count results at Scarborough Spa for the 2017 General Election. 172202e Thursday 8 June 2017. Picture: Ceri Oakes

Eric Broadbent (Lab) 20,966

Sam Cross (UKIP) 1,682

Robert Graham Lockwood (Lib Dem) 1,354

David Malone (Green) 915

The last of the ballot boxes arrive at Scarborough Spa for the 2017 General Election. 172201p
Thursday 8 June 2017. Picture: Ceri Oakes — The last of the ballot boxes arrive at Scarborough Spa for the 2017 General Election. 172201p Thursday 8 June 2017. Picture: Ceri Oakes

John Freeman (Independent) 680

Bill Black (Yorkshire Party) 369

Gordon Johnson (Independent ) 82

The vote for Labour followed the national trend so far tonight with Eric Broadbent receiving a respectable 20,966 votes.

While the Liberal Democrat vote fell further to 1,354 compared to 2,159 in 2015. UKIP remained in third place but votes dropped dramatically to 1,682 from 8,162. Candidate Sam Cross didn’t take to the stage when the declaration was made at 2.50am.

Robert Goodwill said: “I’m very pleased to be re-elected. Obviously as they were counting the votes there were a few nail-biting moments but at the end of the day I got a majority of around 3,500. So it’s a comfortable majority. The first time I was elected it was a majority of about 1,200.”

He added: “I think it’s worrying that we may not have a good of a majority as we would have liked. Of course a good working majority would have had two important outcomes. Firstly it would have sent a clear signal out to Europe that Mrs May had the support of the British people and secondly it would have meant that as she conducted the negotiations she wouldn’t have been influenced by maybe smaller groups, back benchers, to one particular negotiating line.

“But that said we didn’t have a very good majority before Thursday, 15 (seats), it remains to be seen what our majority might be when all the votes are counted. But what is absolutely clear is that we must deliver that Brexit vote for the perople of Scarborough and Whitby, 62% of whom voted for Brexit.”

Labour’s Mr Broadbent said the support for Labour has sent a clear message that people in Scarborough are not happy with the Conservative’s rule of austerity.

He said: “I’m obviously disappointed that I’ve got so close yet so far away but we reduced Mr Goodwill’s majority this evening and I think that we have sent a clear message that we are not happy with the Conservative’s rule of austerity.

“It’s going to be a further five years of this which I know that things are going to get a lot worse. We tried to turn the tide and we nearly succeed. We won’t give up.”

He says he will continue to fight Labour’s cause at a county and borough level.

The count lasted into the early hours after 50,523 votes were cast in the election. The turnout of 68.65% which is up from last year.