Labour's Amanda Hack is the new MP for North West Leicestershire - but it was a close-run contest.

She beat the Conservative candidate, Craig Smith, into second place when the results were announced at Whitwick and Coalville Leisure Centre in the early hours of this morning (Friday).

It was always likely to be a two-horse race - and so it proved.

In the end, just 1,012 votes decided the outcome. Labour returning 16,871 votes and Smith, 15,859.

At one point, the voting was so close that a recount looked likely.

Playing a key role however was the Reform candidate, Noel Matthews, who polled 9,678 and will have taken some Conservative votes.

It means Andrew Bridgen, the constituency's MP since 2010, lost his seat in what was technically a Labour gain from the Conservatives.

Mr Bridgen won the seat as a Conservative but he was thrown out of the party for likening the Government's Covid vaccine policies to the Holocaust.

He stood here as an independent candidate but was never likely to win the seat - polling just 1,568 votes this time around.

In the 2019 election, Mr Bridgen won the seat with a majority of 20,400 ahead of Labour.

But he was not present as the result was read out.

Hack and Smith had been neck and neck in the weeks leading up to the election.

But some polls - and the bookmakers - suggested Labour would win by a greater margin.

Nub News polls of our subscribers had Hack ahead in the first one, but Smith edging into a lead in the second.

It suggested whoever won would do so by a narrow margin - and that is how it panned out.

Amanda Hack said in her acceptance speech: "I'm so proud of the campaign we fought to get Labour the Government across the country that it so desperately needs after 14 years of the Conservatives.

"Thank you to the voters, I've spoken to so many of you and I know many haven't voted Labour before, or haven't for a long time.

"Thank you for the trust you've put in me - I won't let you down.

"It will be the honour of my life and I can't wait to start on the huge task of rebuilding Britain alongside my Labour colleagues.

"Let me start by saying this - we've had 14 years of chaos, division and dysfunction.

"But with a Labour MP and Government, we know that change is possible.

"We can't delay it any longer. Led by Sir Keir Starmer as our Prime Minister, we can turn the page on 14 years of decline, and build back our public services.

"We want to make our NHS fit for the future, cutting waiting lists and dealing with the health of our nation.

"Labour will tackle the cost of living crisis and climate change, setting up Great British Energy.

"We will put our failing water companies on notice.

"Labour will invest in the infrastructure our economy so desperately needs, so families can find well-paid jobs and affordable homes in a safe community.

"As your Member of Parliament, no matter which party you voted for, I am here to serve and represent you here in North West Leicestershire, with no other commitments and no second jobs, from a fully staffed local office with regular constituency surgeries.

"Although this is a Labour victory, we have to get on with the important work of renewal. There's a lot to be getting on with, and I intend to deliver this."

RESULT

Carl Benfield - Green Party: 2,831

Andrew Bridgen - Independent 1,568

Alice Delemare - Liberal Democrat: 1,629

Siobhan Dillon - Independent: 136

Amanda Hack - Labour: 16,871 elected

Noel Matthews - Reform: 9,678

Craig Smith - Conservative: 15,859

Turnout: 62.65%