Stroud general election analysis

Mirroring the results nationally, the Conservative candidate Neil Carmichael pulled of a shock result against Labour, ending up with a large majority, leading to the resignation of his opposite.

In what was expected to be a close run thing, Mr Carmichael defied the book makers and defeated Labour’s David Drew for the second time with a large majority of eight per cent.

Mr Carmichael took 27,813 votes, compared to 22,947 for Labour’s David Drew, who announced his decision to step down in his speech last night.

The Conservative MP’s majority of 4,866 has increased by just over 3,500 since 2010 when he won by just 1,299 – an increase of 4.9 per cent.

The result in Stroud confirmed a second term for Mr Carmichael, who was previously defeated twice by Mr Drew.

“I'm absolutely delighted that I’ve won again with such a large majority. I thought it would be closer than it was, so I am relieved,” he said.

Mr Carmichael’s success was matched by that of his party nationally, with the Conservatives on course to form another government, surpassing the 326 seats needed to form a majority administration, with 331 MPs.

Labour on the other hand suffered a disappointing night, suffering heavy losses at the hands of the SNP in Scotland and failing to win key marginals in England and Wales, Stroud among them.

Mr Drew took 37.7 per cent of the vote, decreasing from 38.6 per cent in 2010.

He said he would not be standing again as a Parliamentary candidate: “I’ve been there, done that, and I’ve got to move on and recognise that younger people have a part to play.”

The Labour leader Ed Miliband also said he would stand down on Friday, saying his party must "rebuild" with a new leader.

Ukip’s Caroline Stephens had a good night in Stroud, coming third with 4,848 votes, eight per cent of the overall vote.

This was a six per cent increase since 2010 – the biggest increase in Stroud. Ukip also came third overall in England for the total number of votes..

Ukip leader Nigel Farage however failed to take the seat in Thanet and announced his resignation.

Sarah Lunnon of the Green Party said she was “bitterly disappointed” with the result, where she emerged with 2,779 votes and 4.6 per cent of the count.

She blamed the voting system and said that the Green vote was diminished by tactical voting for Labour.

Though the Greens saw in increase in votes of 1.9 per cent from the last general election in the constituency, Mrs Lunnon didn’t achieve the five per cent of the vote needed to retain her £500 deposit.

The Green Party held their one seat in Brighton Pavilion, with former party leader Caroline Lucas achieving 42 per cent of the vote.

The Liberal Democrats also suffered a disappointing night overall in the UK, holding only eight for their 57 seats.

Stroud’s candidate Adrian Walker-Smith had an equally poor night, coming fifth with 2,086 votes. Compared to 15.4 per cent of the vote in 2010, he only managed 3.4 per cent.

This decrease of 11 per cent was the biggest percentage change of the night in Stroud.

Despite retaining his seat in Sheffield Hallam, the Lib Dem’s Nick Clegg was the third party leader to resign on Friday.

Independent candidate for the political change campaign MyStroud MP, Richard Wilson, emerged with 246 votes; 0.4 per cent of the share.

Despite a low vote, he said this was the “end of the beginning” for the campaign. He said he is looking forward to working with Stroud’s new MP to achieve greater democracy.

The representative of The Free Public Transport Party, David Michael, finished with 0.2 per cent of the votes, exactly 100.

He said he was “chuffed” with the result and thanked his supporters and the people who placed their trust in him by voting.

The turnout in Stroud was 76 per cent, up two per cent from 2010, with a total of 61,018 votes cast.

See stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk for full interviews with Neil Carmichael and David Drew next week