THE turn-out in East Hampshire for this general election was only slightly lower than the 1997 one, when what was expected to be a Conservative win turned into a Labour landslide.
Twenty years ago the East Hampshire turnout was 75.6 per cent of those registered to vote, and this year it was 75.3 per cent, the highest since 1997.
Sitting Conservative MP Damian Hinds has retained his seat with an increased majority, at the last election in 2015 he got 31,334 votes, this time 35,263.
East Hampshire District Council chief executive and returning officer Sandy Hopkins announced the result at about 3.30am.
But earlier as the election count in the Festival Hall in Petersfield went on, the front bench MP was clearly concerned. The cause was the strong national showing by Labour.
After Mr Hinds was returned as East Hampshire MP, he said the next few days were going to be “very busy” as the Conservative parliamentary party took stock of the Labour challenge.
He said: “For now, it will be some time before we have a clear picture of what has happened nationally, and until that picture is clear I don’t really want to say anything.”