After weeks of campaigning, a day of voting and six hours of ballot counting, the race in Canterbury culminated in win for Labour candidate Rosie Duffield.

The incumbent cruised to third consecutive term in office, beating her closest rival, Conservative Louise Harvey-Quirke by 8,659 votes and extending her majority in the process.

With exit polls strongly suggesting a Labour win in the constituency, the count at Westgate Hall felt largely like a procession towards the inevitable.

But when the contest was finally called at 4.18am on Friday, Ms Duffield graciously accepted the win, thanking her fellow candidates for a clean campaign and vowing to work as hard as ever for the people of Canterbury.

“I'm pretty excited and elated. It's really fantastic to get such a huge majority and it seems to have bucked the trend because we have a really high turnout in this constituency,” said the newly elected Labour MP.

“I think people have obviously put their trust in us and we've got a lot of work to do. I've always worked hard for the people of Canterbury and I'm going to carry on working hard.”

Asked what she expected her role might be in the new government, Ms Duffield replied: “I might be causing trouble from the backbenchers or I might be kind of promoted, who knows? But it's really amazing to have some neighbours - I guess we'll all work together to put Kent first.”

The Conservative Party picked up a decades-low 22.9% of ballots cast, with candidate Louise Harvey-Quirke finishing second.

In her campaign, the Tory had pledged to be a visible and present MP and advocated for lower taxes and environmentally responsible house-building.

But with her party 20 points behind Labour in national polls running up to July 4, Mrs Harvey-Quirke had accepted her fight against Rosie Duffield was going to be tough.

“For me, it was always going to be an uphill battle for anyone fighting an incumbent,” said the Conservative ahead of the result.

“But it's so sad - I think I've run a clean, hard campaign and I have stayed true to myself and and my values.

“My team have all worked incredibly, incredibly hard so whatever the vote is this evening, I am proud of myself and my team."

Labour are celebrating huge wins over the Tories in Kent, with the Lib Dems also picking up their first ever seat in the county.

The victories come amid a Labour landslide nationally - putting Keir Starmer in Downing Street with a huge majority.

New Liberal Democrat MP for Tunbridge Wells Mike Martin described the night’s results as a “political earthquake” in Kent.

In Kent, Labour have won 11 seats, the Conservatives have kept hold of six and the Lib Dems have gained one.

It means the Tories have lost in 10 seats in the county they previously held - and even came third in Dover, with Reform finishing second.

In a surprise twist in Canterbury, Reform Party candidate Bridget Porter secured an impressive third-place finish with 6,805 votes.

“I’m chuffed to bits with the result,” said Ms Porter.

“We have to go onwards and upwards, and I’m very pleased Reform has made a good showing for ourselves across the country.”

Asked what is next for her, the former nurse said: “2029 - if not sooner!”

After Ms Porter, came Greens’ Henry Stanton, followed by Liberal Democrat Russ Timpson in fifth, with the SDP’s Luke Buchanan-Hodgman managing just 285 votes in last position.

Counting got underway at about 10.30pm with candidates and local politicians gathering around a hot and humid Westgate Hall in the city centre.

Although the result was projected to be called around 3am, delays came after a closer-than-expected race for third place saw ballots re-checked.

This process also revealed a number of telling spoilt or uncertain ballots, with one voter writing: “Men do not have penises,” and another stating: “I’m voting for Labour not for Rosie Duffield”.

As sunlight returned to Canterbury skies, political party members converged around a TV in one corner of the hall, where Labour, Green and Lib Dem supporters alike shared in enjoying watching seat after seat fall away from the Tories.

Canterbury City Council leader Alan Baldock said he was looking forward to five more years of working with the Labour representative, calling Ms Duffield “a very good constituency MP”, while reacting to dismal Tory results Conservative KCC councillor Neil Baker said he had been expecting worse.

Asked if this election will mark the end of Conservatism in Kent, the KCC member for Whitstable East & Herne Bay West added: “No, I think votes swing around.

“I remember being here in 2017 when Labour won Canterbury for the first time, and at the time it was the longest seat held by one party in the country.

“Politics is a pendulum - tonight Labour are going to have it swinging their way, but at some point it will swing back.

“It won't be tomorrow, it might not be the next general election, but it will be in the future.”

Green candidate Henry Stanton was well received at the constituency hustings event the week before last and said there was excitement on the doorstep for his party’s environment-centric policies.

Asked if Ms Duffield, would be a strong voice for environmental issues, Mr Stanton said: “If I'm being completely honest, I haven't seen it so far.

“But to be fair, she hasn't been in government so we'll have to see how she performs.

“But my concern would be that because the Labour Party have not shown that they are sufficiently committed to Green issues, that it's not going to happen.”

Even though pollsters have said for weeks that Canterbury is expected to remain Labour, the race garnered interesting debates as parliamentary hopefuls put their points across.

Housing, NHS provisions and the sewage scandal have featured prominently in local discussions, as candidates have sought to empathise with residents.

While at a hustings event at Canterbury Christ Church University, Mrs Harvey-Quirke advocated for lower taxes and environmentally responsible housebuilding.

Mr Timpson said his Liberal Democrat party would bring the UK back towards Europe and invest £1 billion in a national food strategy.

While Mr Stanton promised the Greens would build 150,000 social houses a year and give workers of all ages a £15 minimum wage.

Ms Porter offered a right-wing perspective on immigration, gender issues and country sports, and said Reform would provide voters with a better standard of living.

And Dr Buchanan-Hodgman pitched the SDP as the party of freedom of thought and expression and committed to lower migration and expand tree cover.

But the most talked-about aspect of the event was the absence of Ms Duffield, who made national headlines for pulling out of the hustings event over “constant trolling” which had affected her sense of security.

Despite her outspokenness on women's rights, she said the topic has been but a tiny part of her work as an MP while individual casework has been her bread and butter.

Although historically a safe Tory seat, Canterbury had been held for the last two parliaments by Ms Duffield.

In a shock result in 2017, the former teaching assistant unseated Conservative Julian Brazier, who had held the constituency for 30 years.

She won by just 187 votes, going on to strengthen her mandate two years later when she was re-elected with an increased vote share.

Ms Duffield has now succeeded in upping her portion of the vote for a third time running, taking home 41% in 2024.