CONSERVATIVE Geoffrey Cox begins his second term as MP for West Devon and Torridge this week — a job he describes as the 'greatest honour' of his life.

The redrawn West Devon and Torridge seat was the last to be declared at 4.30pm on Friday. Candidates and supporters waited with baited breath to hear the results following the count at Holsworthy Leisure Centre.

Mr Cox was re-elected with 45% of the vote. He managed to keep the Liberal Democrats at bay, gaining 2,957 more votes than Lib Dem candidate Adam Symons in an election which saw a turnout of 72.2%. In third was UKIP candidate Robin Julian with 5.5% of the vote.

Mr Cox said it was 'an enormous privilege' to be re-elected with a substantial majority, unaltered from the last election, despite boundary changes.

'It was a hard fought, closely contested campaign that got significantly harder after the first televised leaders' debate which gave the opposition a boost,' he said.

'West Devon and Torridge was always going to be a hard fight because it is not easily surrendered by anyone.

'Our success was all the more sweet because there was no support here from the central party — no big names and no financial help, so we fought the campaign on a local level. I regard it as an immense privilege to represent the constituency — it is the greatest honour of my life.'

With the news of a hung parliament Mr Cox said: 'I have always had the greatest respect for those who cannot agree with me on political principle but it is essential now, in the interests of the country and of our area, that we concentrate on what unites us, not what divides us.

'We have huge national economic challenges to face, and it is vital to ensure that our local communities are powerfully represented in the decisions that are made by the new government that is formed in the next few days. I am getting down to that work immediately.' 

The MP was re-elected with the highest vote share of any West Devon and Torridge incumbent since 1992.

He continued: 'There are always knocks given and taken in a general election, some of them fair and some of them unfair, but we have to move on and extend the hand of friendship to each other for the benefit of all.

'We need to make the best of this situation. That is what the country expects and what on the campaign trail many people told me they wanted should there be no conclusive result.'

Mr Cox's constituency office, which had to be suspended for the general election, reopened for business on Monday. Mr Cox can be contacted at [email protected]">[email protected] by telephone on 01237 459001.  

Liberal Democrat Adam Symons said: 'The young Liberal Democrat campaign team has done a fantastic job – the result was all about their enthusiasm, hard work and energy.

'Despite a national swing to the Conservatives, we held our own here. People voted Conservative to stop Labour getting in nationally. It is a shame that the election was dominated by fear, and not by hope.'

The redrawn seat lost the Okehampton area, which is now in the new Central Devon seat, which was won by Conservative Mel Stride.

Results for West Devon and Torridge were: Geoffrey Cox, Conservative, 25,230, Adam Symons, Liberal Democrat, 22,273, Robin Julian, UKIP, 3,021, Darren Jones, Labour, 2,917, Catherine Simmons, Green Party, 1,050, Nick Baker, BNP, 766.