North Yorkshire results: Voters abandon Lib Dems as Conservatives hold Harrogate

Conservative MP Andrew Jones secured a second term with a huge majority of 16,371 after the Lib Dems saw a huge drop off in support.

Conservatives held the Harrogate and Knaresborough seat with 52.76 per cent of the vote.

Lib Dem Helen Flynn managed to gather just 11,782 compared to the 23,266 Claire Kelley won for the party in 2010.

Mrs Flynn blamed the battle nationally for the loss after she took just 22 per cent of the vote, leaving her 30.07 per cent down on the Tories, compared to two per cent in 2010.

Mrs Flynn said Nick Clegg had to go after the party’s poor performance nationally.

She said: “It seems to have been an appalling night for the Lib Dems. We have been punished for being part of this coalition.”

“Nick Clegg can’t survive as leader of the party, I am sure Nick himself will know that. How can he stay? It is sad in some ways and in 20 to 30 years time Clegg’s contribution will be appreciated.”

Even Mr Jones admitted her was surprised by the landslide of votes.

He said: “I am absolutely delighted, but I am surprised. I did not see the landslide coming. I thought there would be a shift, but the scale of the shift has taken me by surprise.”

The MP for SELBY AND AINSTY for the next five years will be Conservative Nigel Adams, who holds the seat.

MP since 2010, Mr Adams is returned to Parliament for the constituency with 27,725 votes and a majority of 13,557.

His share of the vote increased by 2,163 from 25,562 in 2010, and his majority increased by 1,292.

He said: “It was a great honour to be elected five years ago, and it is an even greater honour to be re-elected this time with an increased majority and an increased share of the vote.

It wouldn’t surprise me at all if we had a Conservative majority parliament.

“I think for a lot of people the reality is dawning on them that the alternative to a Conservative government would be Labour propped up by a rampant SNP, and that is happening as we speak, so those fears are making people turn out in their numbers.”

A member of the Conservative Party since the age of 22, Mr Adams is a former director of a telecommunications business in Leeds.

He has served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to two Leaders of the House of Lords and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Five years ago, 25,562 people voted for him out of an electorate of 76,592 voters, 71 per cent of whom turned out to vote.

The Labour share of the vote increased this year from 13,297 votes in 2010 to 14,168 this time, making it the party with the second highest number of votes for the second election in a row.

The UKIP share of the vote increased from 1,635 votes in 2010 to 7,389 this year.

The turnout percentage decreased, from 71.1 per cent in 2010 to 69.8 per cent, though the actual turnout figure increased from 51,728 to 53,117.

The 2010 election saw a swing of 9.7 per cent from Labour to the Conservatives as Labour lost 17.3 per cent of their vote.

Previously, the Labour Party won in 2005, 2001, and 1997 though the Conservatives won by 15 per cent in 1992.

SCARBOROUGH once waited 80 years for a Labour MP and still the party finds it an impossible nut to crack.

Conservative Robert Goodwill was returned for a third consecutive term by the seaside constituency with a reduced majority of 6,200.

On a night where nationally the Conservatives flourished the Transport minister held onto his in the face of stiff competition from Labour’s Ian McInnes.

The Liberal Democrats saw its share of the vote collapse from five years ago. Down to 2,159 from 11,093 in 2010. The party was beaten out by the Greens for fourth place, with Juliet Boddington coming home a distant last for the Alliance for Green Socialism.

Sam Cross followed the national trend by gaining a respectable result for UKIP.

The party, which finished fourth in the borough in 2010 with fewer than 1,500 votes, polled 8,162 this time around.

Robert Goodwill said he was delighted with the result locally and nationally.

He said: “The whole of the country should breath a sigh of relief.”

The count lasted well into the early hours after 47,925 votes were cast in the election, more than one fifth of votes were submitted by post.

The turnout of 65.19 per cent was a fraction of a percent up on five years ago.

HALTEMPRICE AND HOWDEN

David Davis (elected) Conservative Party 54% 26,414

Edward Hart Labour Party 21% 10,219

John Kitchener UK Independence Party 14% 6,781

Carl Minns Liberal Democrats 6% 3,055

Tim Greene Green Party 4% 1,809

Diana Wallis Yorkshire First 1% 479

HARROGATE AND KNARESBOROUGH

Andrew Jones (elected) Conservative Party 53% 28,153

Helen Flynn Liberal Democrats 22% 11,782

David Simister UK Independence Party 11% 5,681

Jan Williams Labour Party 10% 5,409

Shan Oakes Green Party 4% 2,351

RICHMOND

Rishi Sunak (elected) Conservative Party 51% 27,744

Matthew Cooke UK Independence Party 15% 8,194

Mike Hill Labour Party 13% 7,124

John Harris Liberal Democrats 6% 3,465

John Blackie Independent 6% 3,348

Leslie Rowe Green Party 4% 2,313

Robin Scott Independent 3% 1,811

SCARBOROUGH AND WHITBY

Robert Goodwill (elected) Conservative Party 43% 20,613

Ian McInnes Labour Party 30% 14,413

Sam Cross UK Independence Party 17% 8,162

David Malone Green Party 5% 2,185

Michael Beckett Liberal Democrats 5% 2,159

Juliet Boddington Alliance for Green Socialism 0% 207

SELBY AND AINSTY

Nigel Adams (elected) Conservative Party 53% 27,725

Mark Hayes Labour Party 27% 14,168

Colin Heath UK Independence Party 14% 7,389

Nicola Turner Liberal Democrats 4% 1,920

Ian Richards Green Party 3% 1,465

Ian Wilson Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition 0% 137

SKIPTON AND RIPON

Julian Smith (elected) Conservative Party 55% 30,248

Malcolm Birks Labour Party 17% 9,487

Alan Henderson UK Independence Party 14% 7,651

Jacqueline Bell Liberal Democrats 7% 4,057

Andrew Brown Green Party 6% 3,116

THIRSK AND MALTON

Kevin Hollinrake (elected) Conservative Party 53% 27,545

Alan Avery Labour Party 15% 8,089

Toby Horton UK Independence Party 15% 7,805

Dinah Keal Liberal Democrats 9% 4,703

Chris Newsam Green Party 5% 2,404

John Clark Liberal Party 2% 1,127

Philip Tate Independent 1% 692

YORK CENTRAL

Rachael Maskell (elected) Labour Party 42% 20,212

Robert McIlveen Conservative Party 28% 13,496

Ken Guest UK Independence Party 10% 4,795

Jonathan Tyler Green Party 10% 4,791

Nick Love Liberal Democrats 8% 3,804

Chris Whitwood Yorkshire First 1% 291

Megan Ollerhead Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition 1% 288

YORK OUTER

Julian Sturdy (elected) Conservative Party 49% 26,477

Joe Riches Labour Party 25% 13,348

James Blanchard Liberal Democrats 12% 6,269

Paul Abbott UK Independence Party 10% 5,251

Ginnie Shaw Green Party 5% 2,558

MORE RESULTS

• West Yorkshire

• South Yorkshire

• East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

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