ROBERT Buckland is heading back to Westminster after securing his third consecutive election victory in South Swindon.

However it was not always a comfortable affair, with Conservative supporters and Mr Buckland himself looking rather nervous as it became clear the result was still too close to call with minutes to go.

While he ultimately increased his share of the vote, Mr Buckland saw his majority reduced to just 2,464, down from 5,785 in 2015.

He was pushed all the way by Labour’s Sarah Church, who polled 22,345 to his 24,809.

“It's a huge privilege to be re-elected,” said Mr Buckland, who was first elected in 2010.

“Nobody has ever had a higher number of votes or share of the votes than I have received this time. Those are some pretty big records that have been broken.

"The majority has gone down but I think we're seeing a coalescence of the non-Conservative vote around the Labour Party. It was a combination of the existing Labour support in the town and the protest nature of Jeremy Corbyn.

"He's a great campaigner, that's what he does well. But when it comes to being in government the questions are still there.

"I think that's why the people of Swindon made their decision and decided we need a Conservative government."

Mr Buckland acknowledged that this time, the election has become a battle between the leadership qualities of Theresa May in contrast to Jeremy Corbyn as much as it was a contest between local candidates.

"I think a lot of these things are national," he said. "I'm under no illusions.

"I work hard in Swindon and I like to think that people respect my work and will support me for that.

"Let's not kid ourselves, elections are fought on big national issues and candidates, however good and worthy they may be, will not always be able to effect the big national movements in politics.

"Swindon is always interesting in that sense because we reflect the national mood."

Mr Buckland paid tribute to his campaign team, who despite perhaps operating in a less showy way than their Labour counterparts, have been working hard on the ground to secure his re-election.

"My local team was amazing. I had probably about 100 people involved at any one stage.

"My core team was in the dozens, our councillors have been brilliant and our volunteers were amazing.

"What I love about it is that we've got people from all corners of the community, including more minority communities being represented."

On his Labour opponent Sarah Church, who is widely seen as one to watch for the future, Mr Buckland had this to say.

“I wish her well. I think she’ll be an outstanding MP – just not in Swindon.”

Mrs Church was clearly disappointed not to come away with a victory but with just five weeks to campaign against an uncertain national backdrop, she was understandably pleased with the efforts she and her team had put in.

“We couldn’t have done any more,” she said after the result was declared.

“Every single vote was a vote we earned.

“I’m always an optimist and this is a foundation to build on.

“Public sector voters overwhelmingly voted Labour – health workers, doctors, nurses and teachers. They can see the damage that is being done to their sectors under the Conservatives.

“I think some older voters, when they heard about the social care policy and the confusion and potential dangers to their homes switched overnight to the Labour Party.

“I think people started to realise that Mrs May’s Brexit plan wasn’t so much a plan as a request to just trust her with a blank cheque.”

Although she rose to prominence locally through her leadership of the Save Swindon’s Libraries campaign, Mrs Church is a first time candidate and a relatively recent arrival on the Swindon political scene.

Nonetheless the local Labour membership turned out in their droves to support her campaign and take a chunk out of the Conservative’s hold on the seat which was, until 2010, Labour territory.

“I was blown away by the endless support from my team,” she said. “When we’re turning out 25 people on a Wednesday lunchtime on their breaks to come out and knock on doors it says a lot.

“I think there was a real buzz about this campaign, a real feeling of hope and that we could make a difference, which we have.

“I just can’t thank them enough.”

On a personal level, Mrs Church said she had loved her first campaign and was committed to continuing to campaign on the issues that featured at the core of this election.