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David Cameron's former special advisor has become the first female MP in Sevenoaks.
Conservative candidate Laura Trott emerged as the triumphant victor in the North Kent Tory stronghold. The end of her five-year premiership will mark 100 years of Conservative rule in Sevenoaks.
The 35-year-old said she felt "enormously privileged" and "over the moon" to become the first female to take office in the constituency's 134 year history.
Wearing a bright blue dress and Conservative blue badge, Mrs Trott told the large crowd at Sevenoaks Leisure Centre: "I truly believe that our days as a country are going to be brighter in the future.
"We need to cast aside these labels of Brexiteers and Remainers and move forward together."
Mrs Trott, whose daughter Ella turned three today, won 30,932 votes, which was a majority of 20,818 more than three times the second placed Liberal Democrat candidate Gareth Willis, 47.
Six candidates vied for political power this year as part of a fiercely contested seat following the departure of former Defence Secretary, Sir Michael Fallon, who stood down prior to the election after 22 years of service.
Mrs Trott fought off Seamus McCauley (Lab), Mr Willis (Lib Dem), Paul Wharton (Green), Sean Finch (Libt) and Paulette Furse (Ind), who was formerly a Brexit Party candidate.
Ms Furse, 53, who has previously been Sevenoaks Conservative chairman, said: "I can understand why Nigel Farage stood down candidates, but for me the issue was when he didn't stand.
"A lot of people wanted him to stand and I think it was a shock when he decided he wasn't going to.
"I know a lot of Brexit Party candidates are standing as independents, so some people can still vote for them, but it was a shame because we had something there and I hope he carries on."
The future of the Labour Party and its leader Jeremy Corbyn would not be discussed by the Sevenoaks Labour candidate who left swiftly after the result was announced.
Mrs Trott's rounding victory came despite the University of Oxford graduate being the only candidate to stand who lives outside the constituency - her home is in Balham, South West London.
But, her manifesto pledges were enough to persuade Tory voters to give their support in mass.
The policy promises included protecting Sevenoaks' green belt, improving rail services, securing the boys' grammar annex, putting more police on the streets and providing more funds for the NHS.
The new Sevenoaks MP has had a long association with the Tory party since joining its staff as a political adviser in January 2009.
She quickly rose up the ranks to become political policy and media adviser to Francis Maude MP, then the Minister for the Cabinet office between May 2010 and February 2012.
Mrs Trott was later promoted to director of strategic communications at 10 Downing Street for Prime Minister David Cameron until July 2016 and made an MBE in Mr Cameron's resignation honours list for political and public services.
The mum-of-three, who has a three-year-old daughter and two one-year-old twin sons, is also an ambassador for the Sutton Trust, a charity which aims to improve social mobility and address educational disadvantage.
She told the Local Democracy Reporting service: "Going into a General Election is nervous, but we had a really positive campaign. I pay absolute tribute to the people I was up against because it has been a campaign of ideas and I'm delighted that has resulted in me being elected."
Sevenoaks remains one of the safest Tory seats in the UK and has been held by the party for 95 years, spanning more than 20 general elections since 1924.
A total of 11 MPs, including 10 Tories and just one Liberal, have now been elected in Sevenoaks since the constituency was formed during the premiership of Liberal PM William Gladstone in 1885.
It has been almost a century since the last winter general election in 1923 - when the Tories were last unseated in Sevenoaks - but Mrs Trott becomes the seventh elected Conservative MP since then.
Mrs Trott’s predecessor, Sir Michael Fallon, who occupied the seat from 1997 to 2019, beat his Labour counterpart more than three times over in the previous general election in 2017 which saw Theresa May’s majority shrink.
The longest serving MP in the constituency was Sir John Rodgers, the Conservative occupied the seat for 29 years from 1950 to 1979.
Key statistics
Number of polling stations: 68
Number of wards: 26
Total electorate: 71,757
Turnout: 51,200 (71.35%)
Number of candidates: 6
Number of counters: 73
Follow our live blog for details on the results across Kent as they come in.
To see who was elected in Sevenoaks in 2017, click here.
