by political editor Paul Francis

The Conservatives polled more than 50,000 more votes across Kent than they did in 2005 while Labour lost close to 90,000, a KMG anaylsis of the figures reveals.

The contrasting fortunes of the parties last Thursday, when Labour lost all seven of its marginal Kent seats, is graphically illustrated by figures showing that the Conservatives received 388,199 votes across the county's constituencies compared to 337,758 in 2005 - representing an increase of 50,441.

Labour polled 174,599 votes, tumbling by 87,164 from the 261,763 they received in 2005. Its share of the vote slumped dramatically in several constituencies: in Dartford, it slipped by 15 per cent while in the three Medway constituencies, its share fell by 13 per cent.

The Liberal Democrats, meanwhile, saw their votes increase signficantly, rising by 40,757 to 173,176 - fractionally below Labour.

It also saw its share of the vote rise in a handful of seats, notably Maidstone and the Weald, where it went up by 13 per cent and Canterbury where the party's share rose by 11 per cent.

The Green Party, which fielded candidates in 11 seats, polled 7,438 while UKIP polled 27,160 votes - down on 2005, when they secured support of 30,734.