Despite preditions of a close contest Conservatiove Robert Buckland held off Labour's challenge to hold his South Swindon seat with an increased majority tonight.

He pipped Anne Snelgrove, who first lost the seat in 2010, who only gained 16,992 votes, compared with the Tory's 22,777 votes.

It meant the Solicitor General increased his majority from 3,500 to 5,785.

The eyes of the nation's media were focused on the constituency, with polls leading up to the vote suggesting it was neck and neck. The seat was a key one for Labour if it was to gain ground on the Conservatives nationally but the overwhelming win was typical of how the night went for both parties.

Robert said:  "Thanks to my brilliant team, the police, the people of south Swindon and all the volunteers who supported me.

"This result didn't happen because we turned up at the election, this happened because we turn up all the time."

Anne said: "Congratulatioms to Robert. I would like to thank my wonderful team for supporting a hard fought campaign.

"It was a privilege to represent South Swindon for five years as an MP and it was a privilege to be selected again as candidate."

She was heckled when talking about the way the Conservaties run the NHS.

Eventually, she said: "The cuts will hit Swindon very hard. I will continue my fight as I was privleged to have my like saved by the NHS. I will do my best to make sure that the NHS is here in the future."

Both parties threw their weight behind each campaign with the Conservatives choosing to launch their manifesto in Swindon and Labour bringing a host of high-profile figures to help Anne.

Also running in the seat was Talis Kimberley-Fairbourn for the Greens who got 1,757 votes, John Short for UKIP who got 5,920 votes and Damon Hooton for the Liberal Democrats who got 1,817 votes.

After the vote Mr Buckland thanked those who voted for them and said the people of Swindon would remain his number one priority.