THE Conservatives have won both of Bury's Parliamentary seats in an extraordinary General Election night.
Christian Wakeford has been elected as MP for Bury South after ousting Independent Ivan Lewis who has represented the constituency for 22 years.
The Tories also took Bury North where James Daly took victory from James Frith by a narrow margin of just 105 votes after a recount.
Their success marks the first time both of the borough's seats have been controlled by the Conservatives since 1992.
Dene Vernon also helped the Conservatives secure a clean sweep of the night's polls as the party held on to the Church Ward in a council by-election.
Speaking after his seismic victory, Mr Wakeford said that the work to deliver on his campaign pledges starts today.
He added: "Ultimately the message of delivering Brexit has certainly resounded. And in some of those communities, certainly the Jewish community, there was no love for Corbyn and you could feel the fear on the door step.
"The positive campaign that we ran on local issues resonated with a lot of people – certainly in regard to Radcliffe and what can be delivered there.
"Our priorities now are delivering the high school for Radcliffe, trying to prevent the GMSF and protecting our greenbelt, and regenerating our high streets.
"Radcliffe has been left to ruin for far too long so it is about getting that investment, more businesses, more footfall, and regenerating the town."
Mr Wakeford becomes the first Tory MP to represent the town since 1992 after winning the seat by 602 votes from Labour's Lucy Burke.
However he admitted that the endorsement of Bury South's former MP and independent candidate, Ivan Lewis, had helped him secure the victory.
Last week Mr Lewis, who had held the seat for over two decades, made a shock admission of defeat and urged voters to elect Mr Wakeford.
The newly elected Conservative MP, Mr Wakeford, praised Mr Lewis for his service, saying: "Ivan has certainly proved to be an extremely popular and effective constituency MP and provides some difficult shoes to fill."
Mr Lewis thanked the people of Bury South for the privilege of representing them and said he will always cherish the opportunity they afforded him.
The outcome of the election represented a "terrible night" for the Labour Party, he added, suggesting that it was the twin factors of Brexit and Jeremy Corbyn's unfitness to govern that had cost them.
Bolton North also fell to the Conservatives as James Daly took the seat by the narrowest of margins - just 105 votes seperated him from Labour's James Frith following a dramatic recount.
Speaking after his tight fought victory, Mr Daly said:"I’m feeling really positive because I want to do things that are going to change and impact on Bury and Bury North. Things that are hopefully going to make people’s lives better, and their life chances better as part of a government that are committed to increased investment.
"I am delighted and honoured that the people have voted for me but you don’t stand for Parliament if you don’t have a plan, if you don’t want to deliver, if you don’t want to do something.
"I have a passion for education. I got into to politics for a very simple reason. I believe that it is unfair that some of the poorest children in our society and our town did not have the chance to thrive and succeed.
"I want to play a part as MP, with our fantastic schools and teachers, and ensure that we have more outstanding schools in Bury so that more kids are getting the best possible education at the end of five years.
"I also want to be the MP who supports small business people. Those people who get up at all hours, work as hard as they possibly can to support their families and communities."
Mr Daly added that he believes Bury now has a “fantastic future” outside of the EU and under the leadership of Boris Johnson.
Making way for Mr Daly was Labour's James Frith who has represented Bury North since 2017.
He said he and his party had “come inches from retaining this seat and bucking the most almighty national trend”, adding: “Ultimately the headwinds against us were too strong.
“That causes deep regret, I’m gutted, but I understand it – it’s a brutal business. I wish my successor all the success in the future in his role as MP.”
Completing the Tories clean sweep was Dene Vernon whose victory in the Church ward council by-election was a Conservative hold.
The by-election had been called to fill the vacancy left by the tragic death of Councillor Susan Nuttall.
Cllr Vernon said: "It is an honour have been selected to be elected to replace councillor Nuttall who was a great friend and councillor. I just hope I can be as successful as her for Church Ward."
Cllr Vernon added that his first priority for the area is protecting the greenbelt.
Election results in full:
Bury South:
Conservative - Christian Wakeford: 22,034
Labour - Lucy Burke: 21,632
Lib Dem - Richard Kilpatrick: 2,315
Brexit - Andrea Livesey: 1,672
Independent - Ivan Lewis: 1,366
Green - Glyn Heath: 848
Independent - Michael Boyle: 277
Women's Equality - Gemma Evans: 130
Bury North:
Conservative - James Daly: 21,660
Labour - James Frith: 21,555
Liberal Democrats - Gareth Lloyd-Johnson: 1584
Brexit - Alan McCarthy:1240
Green - Charlie Allen:802
Church Ward:
Conservative - Dene Vernon: 3,317
Labour - Sam Turner: 2,172
Green - Charlie Allen: 235
Lib Dem - Stephen Lewis: 213
Turnout:
Bury South: 50,377 (66.64 per cent)
Bury North: 46,931 (67.84 per cent)
Church Ward: 5,960 (69.74 per cent)
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel