WENTWORTH: Minister enjoys huge majority in new seat despite massive swing to Tories

The new constituency takes in part of the former Barnsley East and Mexborough seat and is in an industrial and former mining area where Labour are guaranteed to win.

But Mr Healey, who polled 50.6 per cent of the vote saw a swing of 7.5 per cent to the Conservative candidate Michelle Donelan who finished in second place with more than 7,000 votes.

As in the other two Rotherham constituencies, the BNP fielded a candidate George Baldwin, but he was pushed back into fifth place behind Lib Dem Nick Love and John Wilkinson of UKIP.

Ms Donelan said she was pleased with the outcome of the vote and said: "Our aim was to raise our profile in the area, increase membership, which we have, and offer people a real choice and alternative.

"It's been a really successful campaign and has been very good for the Conservative Party overall."

Turnout in the constituency was just over 58 per cent, a four per cent increase from the 2005 figure in the former Wentworth seat, which was battered in early 2009 by news of job losses at its main employer Corus.

The company blamed the recession for the loss of 1,000 jobs and Mr Healey, along with his Rotherham colleague Denis MacShane and former Scunthorpe MP Elliot Morley, supported a Save Our Steel campaign in Westminster.

After being re-elected Mr Healey said he thought the Lib Dem vote had crumbled because people had paid more attention to policy during the latter stages of the election campaign and given less thought to the televised leaders' debates.

He added: "I am delighted to be re-elected in a vote with an increased turnout and with a strong will to see Labour continue to champion our area. I am proud to serve the people of Wentworth and Dearne and will continue to do that as best I can."