Election 2015: Results round-up

In Tottenham, where 2.7 per cent of voters are Jewish, Labour’s David Lammy increased his majority to a massive 23,564, beating Conservative candidate Stefani Mrozinski into second place. The constituency is home to a large community of strictly Orthodox Jews..

Vociferous Israel critic Sir Gerald Kaufman was returned for Labour in Manchester Gorton with 67 per cent of the vote. He comfortably saw off Conservative candidate Mohammed Afza. As the longest-serving MP without a break, he now becomes Father of the House of Commons.

Conservative Robert Halfon held Harlow with a significantly increased majority. The former political director of Conservative Friends of Israel, who took the seat in 2010 after 13 years of Labour, saw his lead rise from 11 per cent to 18.9 per cent.

In a post on his Facebook page, he said: "I am overwhelmed at the swing towards our party.

"Thanks also to my fantastic team of staff who have been through it all with me, my dedicated volunteers, and all of the support I have received on social media. It will be an honour to serve you for another 5 years."

Also retaining his seat was Conservative Party co-chairman Grant Shapps, who won Welwyn Hatfield but saw his lead fall by 7.4 per cent. Mr Shapps’s campaign had been hit by claims that he had ordered associates to tamper with Wikipedia pages of him and his rivals. Speaking after the declaration, he said: “There’s never been anything I’ve enjoyed more than representing Welwyn Hatfield. This is the part of the job I enjoy. I am absolutely honoured.”

In a Facebook post, he added: “Privileged to serve Welwyn Hatfield for another term. Thank you to my brilliant constituents”.

Margaret Hodge retained her safe seat of Barking, which she has held since 1994. The constituency has been Labour ever since it was formed in 1945. Ms Hodge bucked the national trend to gain 3.4 per cent more of the vote than in 2010, though this only translated to an increase of 198 votes. Her majority was cut by 1283 however, due to a Ukip surge which saw their candidate Roger Gravett pick up 22.2 per cent of the vote.

Conservative Theresa Villiers, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the coalition, held her Chipping Barnet seat with a reduced majority of 7,656 votes, down from 11,927 in 2010.

Blackley and Broughton remained a safe Labour seat with sitting MP Graham Stringer winning an increase in support with a majority of 16,874 and 61.9 per cent of the vote. Ukip candidate Martin Power pipped the Tories to second place with 16.5 per cent.

Speaking to Manchester Evening News, Mr Stringer said: “I have mixed feelings. I am tired, delighted that the people of Blackley and Broughton decided to support the Labour party again but disappointed at the results nationally.It appears the people of Blackley and Broughton could find themselves under attack again from a Conservative government.I hope that’s not the case but I and the Labour party will do everything we can to protect them.”

Altrincham and Sale West stayed safely blue with re-election for Conservative Graham Brady and a four per cent increase in his majority to 13,290. Mr Brady said: “It is a huge privilege to represent my home town and party as I have for the past 18 years and for the people of Altrincham and Sale to have renewed that trust in me means a great deal.I will endeavour to justify that trust by continuing to work hard for the people in my constituency.”

Labour’s Hugh Lanning failed to unseat the sitting Conservative in Canterbury, losing by 9,798 votes.

Victory in Stoke on Trent North for Labour MP Ruth Smeeth who picked up 15,429, winning a majority of 4,836.

It was bad night for Israel critics in Bradford.

George Galloway said “racists and Zionists” would be celebrating after he lost his Bradford West Seat.
The now former Respect MP, who during the Gaza conflict called for the Yorkshire city to be an Israel-free zone, was defeated by Labour’s Naz Shah, after a slump in his vote of over 18 per cent. Ms Shah’s majority was 11,420.

Reacting to the result, Mr Galloway said: “I don’t begrudge the Labour members here their moment of celebration of course. But there will be others who are already celebrating: the venal, the vile, the racists and the Zionists will all be celebrating.

“The hyena can bounce on the lion’s grave but it can never be a lion and in any case, I’m not in my grave. As a matter of fact I’m going off now to plan the next campaign.”

Liberal Democrat David Ward lost his seat in Bradford East, finishing behind Labour’s Imran Hussain by 7,084 votes. During the campaign Liberal Democrat peer Sarah Ludford had said she hoped Mr Ward would lose, claiming his tweet about Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu attending the rally honouring victims of terrorism in Paris, had “tipped over from anti-Israel to antisemitism”.

Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society think tank, failed in his bid to become Tory MP for Brent Central. He lost out to Labour candidate Dawn Butler who took the seat from the Liberal Democrats with a 41.8 per cent majority. Dr Mendoza congratulated his rival on Twitter saying: “It has been my privilege to stand for election in Brent Central. Congratulations to Dawn Butler, but we will ensure she keeps her promises.”

Jewish Ukip candidate Nigel Sussman came in third with 1,489 votes in Westminster North. The seat remained red with a small Labour majority of 1,977 votes.

Labour candidate Michael Desmond lost out in Tory safe seat Faversham and Mid Kent, coming in third behind Conservative winnner Helen Whately. Mr Desmond was quoted on Twitter as saying he had “enjoyed the campaign” and that Faversham has “a great sense of community” which he is “very proud of”.

Michael Fabricant won a fifth term in Lichfield, the constituency he has held since it was created in 1997. The Conservative MP slightly increased his majority to 35.3 per cent.The son of a rabbi, the Tory backbencher has regularly flirted with controversy, usually through his use of Twitter. He defended David Cameron’s policy on Gaza and Israel following Baroness Warsi’s resignation from the cabinet.

The MP, 64, who revealed during the campaign that he is being treated for skin cancer, was also forced to apologise last June after tweeting that he would like to punch a female journalist.

At the declaration, he said: “It has been a long and exciting campaign. I would like to thank the other candidates and party agents for a mostly decent campaign. The results have been extraordinary. What it means for the relationship with Scotland and between the other parties, I don't know. History will say 2015 rewrote the political textbooks."

Conservative MP Richard Harrington secured a second term in parliament with an enormous win in Watford, winning 43.5 per cent of the vote.A former chairman of the executive board at the Conservatives Friends of Israel,since being elected in 2010, he has defended shechita in debates and refused to back Palestinian statehood.

Labour veteran David Winnick has won a ninth successive term in Walsall North. The 81-year-old nearly doubled his majority from 2010, finishing 1,937 votes ahead of his Conservative rival Douglas Hansen-Luke. The MP, who is the third oldest in parliament, had seen his majority cut by around 11,500 since 1997, but reversed that trend this time round.

Oliver Letwin held on to his Dorset West seat, earning a fifth term in parliament on the back of an increased majority. The constituency, which has been a Tory seat since 1931, re-elected the Minister of State for Policy with a majority of 16,130, 12,207 higher than in 2010.

With the Conservatives achieving an overall majority, Board of Deputies president Vivian Wineman congratulated Mr Cameron on his party's victory. "We wish him all success with his next administration of this country and in tackling the many challenges facing it.”

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