CONSERVATIVE candidate Michael Fallon claimed his party’s decision to campaign on immigration was vindicated as he recorded an extended majority in the Tory stronghold of Sevenoaks.

But while the poll returned the expected winner, Labour candidate Tim Stanley was left fuming about Tony Blair’s foreign policy after the Liberal Democrats leaped into second place.

Mr Fallon, who won the seat for the third successive election and increased his majority by 2816 votes, described the result as "the end of New Labour."

He said: "I extended my majority, but more importantly Labour have been pushed back into third place for the first time since 1992. For Labour this is a humiliation.

"Some of the issues we have been campaigning on, like crime and immigration, you can see for real in Kent. You can see the problems here."

He said his priorities for the Sevenoaks area would be to stop travellers being able to move on to green belt land in defiance of planning laws, and continuing the campaign for more health provision in West Kent.

More than two-thirds of the Sevenoaks electorate voted in the election, but both the Liberal Democrats and Labour claimed that voters failed to think tactically, preventing any viable opposition to Mr Fallon.

Tim Stanley (Lab) said: "I am not ashamed of the campaign, I think it was the best campaign Labour has ever run in this seat. But I was running against the anti-war vote. I couldn’t compete with the liberal dissatisfaction with Tony Blair’s foreign policy. I share that dissatisfaction, and I was opposed to the war in Iraq.

"It is a great shame that Labour and the Liberal Democrats continue to split the vote in this seat."

Ben Abbotts (Lib Dem), who said he hoped to contest the seat again at the next General Election, said: "This is an important breakthrough for us, to regain second place and emerge as the clear challengers."