CONSERVATIVE Mark Pawsey has comfortably retained the Rugby and Bulkington seat in the General Election.
Mr Pawsey won the constituency with 24,040 votes – a majority of 10,345, extending his 2010 lead by over 4,000.
Labour’s Claire Edwards came second with 13,695 votes.
The result was declared at around 6.10 this morning (Friday) at the Benn Hall.
Mr Pawsey said: “The majority that I’ve enjoyed today isn’t something I was expecting.
“I think our message about the economy is one that people came to understand. We know we’ve had some tough years and it’s been difficult for many people, but the country is going in the right direction.
“In rugby, the number of people looking for work has fallen by 56 per cent. I think people expect us to carry on in that way.”
He added his priorities for his next term in Parliament were to keep the economy growing, to ensure that housing growth in Rugby “sits neatly within the town”, and the provision of local hospital services at St Cross.
The make-up of the borough council could also be in for a shake-up as 14 seats from the 16 wards are up for grabs, including those of Conservative council leader Michael Stokes (Admirals and Cawston), Labour group leader Claire Edwards (Newbold and Brownsover) and LibDem group leader Jerry Roodhouse (Paddox).
Results of the borough council elections are expected to be announced this afternoon.
There are also a number of parish council elections set to take place, the results of which will be available on Saturday.
Read more election reaction in next week’s Rugby Observer.
The Rugby and Bulkington Parliamentary Election – full results:
Mark Pawsey (Conservative) – 24,040
Claire Edwards (Labour) – 13,695
Gordon Davies (UKIP) – 6,855
Ed Goncalves (LibDem) – 2,776
Terry White (Green Party) – 1,415
Pete McLaren (TUSC) – 225
Turnout – 68.58 per cent
