After weeks of campaigning, voters in Ashford have now decided who they want to represent them in parliament following the first December General Election since 1923.

Conservative Damian Green has reclaimed his membership to the Houses of Parliament, extending his majority to the largest in the history of the constituency.

Receiving 37,270 votes, 61.73% of the total, Mr Green is set for another term in the House of Commons - his seventh.

Coming in second was Labour's Dara Farrell with 13,241 votes or 21.93%.

It's been a positive year for many of the parties, with Lib Dem candidate Adrian Gee-Turner gaining 6,048 votes - almost double his 2017 figure of 3,101.

Mandy Rossi for the Green Party also had reason to celebrate, getting her biggest vote count of her three attempts.

She won 4.37% of the vote, just shy of the 5% required to get their deposit back.

Susannah De Sanvil, an independent candidate who ran as "the only true Brexiteer of the candidates", picked up 1.43%.

A notedly high turnout has been experienced this year, with 60,375 constituents heading to polling stations.

While the 67.4% is lower than the 2017 level - 68.69% - all the candidates at the count held in the Stour Centre were surprised considering the weather and timing.

The result saw Mr Green, who was first elected in 1997, celebrate his largest-ever majority of 24,029.

"It's the biggest majority I have ever had and it's the biggest in the history of the seat," he said.

"I was confident of winning but you should never be complacent and we worked hard and got the reward.

"It is a combination of national and local factors.

"I am tremendously grateful that people have elected me as the MP for Ashford for the seventh time."

Ashford has had a Conservative MP since 1885, except for a Liberal MP voted in during the 1929 election.

Mr Green, who supported Remain in the 2016 EU referendum, added: "I have made it clear from the start that I supported Remain, but I am a democrat.

"The referendum went the way it did and the result should be respected.

"People in Ashford voted for Brexit in quite large numbers.

"I think one of the reasons why my majority was so big was because the Conservative Party was the only one people trusted to implement the referendum vote."

Runner-up Mr Farrell shared his disappointment at the result.

"Nationally it's a bloody disaster but I think my personal vote held up here in Ashford," he said.

"I'd like to thank all the people who voted for me, it's a reflection of my strong track record of representing the people of Ashford in the borough and county councils.

"Together with my six Labour colleagues on Ashford Borough Council, people clearly recognise our hard work and dedication.

"It's a real honour to have been selected. It was a clean election and that's a testament to everyone involved.

"I think the Labour Party needs to look deep within itself to find a solution."

Brendan Chilton, speaking as head of the Ashford Labour Group and chair of the Labour Leave group, said: "It's a funeral tonight.

"It's a funeral for the Remain campaign and a funeral for the second referendum. It also sadly marks the end of Corbynism.

"If we want to win again we need to become a social democrat party focused on our working class and support leaving the EU."

Follow our live blog for details on the results across Kent as they come in.

To see who was elected in Ashford in 2017, click here.

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