‘There’s still more to do’
CONSERVATIVE candidates Nicky Morgan and Edward Argar were both re-elected as MPs for Loughborough and Charnwood in a tense election night on Thursday, June 8.
The election saw a significant rise in votes for both Jewel Miah and Sean Kelly-Walsh of the Labour party but neither were able to close the gap enough to take either seats from the Tories.
Nicky Morgan won in Loughborough with 27,022 votes, which was a majority of 4,269, with Jewel Miah receiving 22,753 votes.
The Tory majority in Charnwood was even greater, as Edward Argar won with 33,318 - a majority of 16,341.
The full results for Loughborough on the night were: • Dr Philip Leicester, Green Party - 971 votes • Dr Andy McWilliam, UK Independence Party - 1,465 votes • Jewel Miah, Labour Party - 22,753 votes • Nicky Morgan, Conservative Party - 27,022 votes • David Walker, Liberal Democrats - 1,937 votes And the full result in Charnwood was: • Edward Argar, Conservative Party - 33,318 votes • Victoria Connor, UK Independence Party - 1,471 votes • Nick Cox, Green Party - 1,036 votes • Stephen Denham, British National Party - 322 votes • Sean Kelly-Walsh, Labour Party - 16,977 votes • Simon Sansome, Liberal Democrats - 2,052 votes
The night was an eventful one in Loughborough Leisure Centre, as the early exit poll showed that the national picture was heading towards a hung parliament - which sparked some anxious looks on faces of members of the local Conservative party.
But the result for Charnwood was finally announced just before 5.30am and the result for Loughborough followed shortly after.
More voters than the last election in 2015 turned out in Charnwood with 70.8 per cent (55,291 ballot papers) of the electorate voting, where in 2015, 67.98 per cent (52,500 ballot papers) turned out.
However the turnout in Loughborough slightly dropped with 68.2 per cent (54,258 ballot papers) of voters going to a polling station (when the electorate was 75,217), which was a slight drop from the 2015, 69.45 per cent (52,237 ballot papers and an electorate of 79,607).
Shortly after Nicky Morgan’s victory was announced she spoke to the Echo about her plans for Loughborough and why she thinks she was re-elected by the people of Loughborough.
She said: “I think I’ve got a long to do list that I was working on in the run up to April. I’ve got the campaign to keep open the Glenfield Children’s Heart unit, which has been mentioned a lot during the campaign and sorting out the East Midlands train franchise, and also day to day casework.
“I’ve got letters to send today that I’ve not been able to help because of the elections, and now I want to get on with those cases.
“What has been really lovely on the door- steps has been so many times people have opened the door and said ‘Oh Hi Nicky’ and even if they don’t know me, they feel like they can have a chat.
“We’ve been on lots of school visits and met lots of kids so that when they open the door, they’ve said oh mum Nicky Morgan is on our doorstep so you’ve got to come and talk to her, and that’s brilliant as well, and you’re able to talk about the things I’ve done and there is still a lot more to do.”
On a lighter note some of the highlights of the night included Coun Sue Gerrard of East Goscote bringing home made malt loaf to keep the spirits of her fellow Tories high, and also some funny campaign tales of bitten fingers and shrines erected in electors homes as the Echo went in search of the best stories as candidates had been pounding the pavement in search of votes.