Gwyn Prosser loses out to Charlie Elphicke

The Conservatives have won the Dover and Deal constituency at the General Election with new MP Charles Elphicke topping the poll with 22,174 votes.

Labour's Gwyn Prosser lost the seat he had held for 13 years after receiving just 16,900 votes. Liberal Democrat candidate John Brigden totted up 7,962.

Mr Elphicke said: "This is an astonishing result. I'm deeply honoured to be voted a servant of the people of Dover.

"I would like to thank my supporters for working so hard and helping put a blue tinge on the White Cliffs of Dover."

Of the 50,553 ballot papers issued to the electorate of 71,833 people, 70.38 per cent turned out to register their choice for the next MP.

"I'm committed to the people of this constituency," he pledged.

"I'm committed to fairness for this constituency - for us to get our fair share of funding.

"I will not have our port put at risk and sold off," he said.

"Gwyn Prosser has been so resilient and I have learned a lot about politics from Gwyn."

The defeated Mr Prosser defended Gordon Brown, refusing to blame the Labour Government's politics for losing him his seat.

"Every day you've got to do a service as an MP and I'm very fortunate to have had more than 5,000 days so I'm very privileged.

"I'll see my family because I haven't seen much of them and then I'll come back to Dover and start preparing for power again," he said.

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