YORK CENTRAL: Election could be 'turning point' for voting reform says Bayley

Mr Bayley won the newly created York Central seat, which, along with York Outer, has replaced the former City of York constituency which he represented. He picked up 18,573 votes with a majority of 6,451 following a 62 per cent turn-out, although the result represented a six per cent swing from Labour to the Conservatives.

Mr Bayley admitted that the Labour Party now needs to look at significant changes, and the General Election could prove a landmark moment, leading to electoral reform.

Mr Bayley said: "The public have sent out a clear message to Labour that we do need to change, but we need to look closely at exactly what changes need to be made.

"The General Election could well be a turning point and we could now see new ground rules for progressive politics."

Mr Bayley identified his first priority as tackling the loss of more than 1,000 jobs after the York-based railway maintenance firm, Jarvis, went into administration.

The Conservatives' candidate, Susan Wade Weeks, came in second with 12,122 votes. Despite the swing to the Tories, she still claimed that she was massively disappointed with the result. She said: "York is such a special place, and many people here do not realise what a special place they live in. I do believe that I could have made York the best city in Europe."

The Liberal Democrats' candidate, Christian Vassie, was in third place after winning 11,694 votes. He said he was particularly proud to have helped "wake young people up to politics".