IT WAS the election where the political map of Kent appeared destined to be redrawn.

And it was the election that Labour privately feared would see it lose many of seats it had won in the county in the landslide victory of 1997.

But in the end, Labour confounded expectations, hanging on to all but one of its eight seats on a night of nerve-jangling recounts.

Possibly the greatest drama was in the marginal seat of Sittingbourne and Sheppey, where Labour’s Derek Wyatt was declared the victor after two recounts - both of which had appeared to hand the seat to the Conservative candidate Gordon Henderson.

When the result was declared just before 4am, Mr Wyatt, who was defending a majority of 3,509, had retained his seat by the narrowest of margins - 79 votes. After the first recount, he was behind by 118, which then came down to 70. But when the result was formally announced, it was the Tories who had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

“We nicked it but I feel as though I have been through the wringer all night. It has certainly been a tough call for Gordon Henderson from the Conservatives,” said Derek.

There was a similarly remarkable story of a reversal of fortunes in Medway. There, Labour’s Bob Marshall-Andrews appeared ready to concede defeat even before the votes had been counted. He blamed his apparent defeat at the hands of the Tories on the unpopularity of Tony Blair and the Iraq war.

But after publicly conceding defeat, a recount several hours later handed victory to Mr Marshall-Andrews at around 4.30am, prompting the Labour maverick to declare jokingly: "I am Lazarus." He polled 17,333 voters against the 17,120 of his challenger Mark Reckless.

Recounts also took place in three other constituencies: Chatham and Aylesford, Gillingham and Gravesham. In Chatham and Aylesford, Jonathan Shaw was returned for a third time with a majority of 2,332, down from 4,340.

Activists and suppporters at both counts were kept waiting until dawn broke as both were among the last seats to declare in Kent.

A clearly relieved Paul Clark, who was elected to represent Gillingham in 1997, will be returning to Westminster for a third term after it too, appeared that he might have to be dusting down his CV and reviewing his career options.

He saw his majority of 2,272 - the second smallest in the county - whittled down to just 254 after polling 17,621 votes agains the 17,361 of his Conservative challenger Tim Butcher.

Labour’s one disappointment was in Gravesham, where junior minister Chris Pond was unable to fend off a strong Conservative challenge. Despite a recount, he lost the seat by about 700 votes. But his north Kent colleague Dr Howard Stoate fared better in Dartford and saw off a strong Conservative challenge.

For the Tories, there were few surprises as it comfortably held on to all the Kent seats.

Michael Howard increased his majority in Folkesotne and Hythe as a Liberal Democrat challenge petered out. The Conservative leader, MP for the past 22 years, saw his majority increase by an impressive 6,000-plus votes, up nine per cent on his share in 2001. That will be regarded as a personal vindication in the face of a strong Liberal Democrat campaign.

The result was a bitter disappointment for Liberal Democrat candidate Peter Caroll, who saw his vote drop by two per cent to 14,481. In Maidstone, Ann Widdecombe who is expected to stand down at the next election, consolidated her hold in a seat that she has held since 1987, increasing her majority and leaving second-placed Labour trailing by more than 14,000 votes.

She said: "The people of Maidstone and the Weald have returned me with a huge majority. I now have to earn that majority. It is not something that ends on the night itself."

In Tonbridge and Malling, Kent’s longest standing MP Sir John Stanley is back for a ninth term, comfortably seeing off his challengers and increasing his majority by 5,000. It means a Conservative stronghold has become a virtual fortress. There was a slight swing from Labour to Liberal Democrats but not enough for them to take second place.

In Kent’s most marginal seat of Thanet South, Labour’s Steve Ladyman hung on by his fingertips. His majority fell to just 664 but it was just enough to see him back in Westminster. And like his colleagues, he will not care about the small margin of victory.

* This will be Derek Wyatt's third term as MP for the Sittingbourne and Sheppey constituency. He spoke to kmfm just after the result was announced...