CONSERVATIVE candidate John Glen held his seat with an increased share of the vote at the 2017 general election.

Mr Glen won a total of 30,952 votes, more than he did in 2015 and more than any candidate in Salisbury in the past 45 years.

But despite this, a surge in support for Labour meant his majority was reduced from 20,421 to 17,333.

Labour candidate Tom Corbin picked up more than a quarter of all votes cast (25.5 per cent), which was easily the party’s largest share in Salisbury since 1970 when only Labour and the Conservative candidates stood.

His 13,619 votes represented an increase of more than 75 per cent on his 2015 total.

Most of those votes seem to have come from Ukip, whose share of the poll collapsed in Salisbury, as it did nationally.

The party’s share plummeted from 12.1 per cent to 2.2 per cent in Salisbury, as Dean Palethorpe secured 1,191 votes.

Just two years ago his predecessor Paul Martin narrowly missed out to Labour in the race for second place, winning 6,152 votes.

Lib Dem Paul Sample secured 5,982 votes (11.2 per cent), which was more than the party’s previous candidate Reetendra Banerji managed in 2015.

Green Party candidate Brig Oubridge came in fifth with 1,152 votes, just 39 behind Ukip as his party lost more than half its support in the city, having secured 2,762 votes in 2015.

Independent King Arthur Pendragon also lost a chunk of his support with 415 votes compared to 759 last time.

The Ukip, Green and Independent candidates all failed to secure their deposit by polling less than five per cent.

Speaking at the count at Five Rivers leisure centre, Mr Glen said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be re-elected with a vote that’s very similar to the last election, and I will be working very hard in the coming weeks and months to justify the trust the people of Salisbury have put in me again.”

Mr Glen thanked his rival candidates who had worked “incredibly hard” in what had been an “exceptionally good-natured campaign” over the previous seven weeks.

“Fifty-eight per cent of people who did turn out voted for me and that’s a massive endorsement for the Conservative Party.”

He added that it was “truly a privilege” to be the MP for Salisbury and south Wiltshire and he was “extremely grateful to be re-elected”.

Mr Corbin, whose daughter had got married on the Saturday, said he would be “ready to take a leading role” at the next election.

Mr Sample said the election had been a “victory for democracy”, while Mr Pendragon said the people of Salisbury liked John Glen, but not necessarily the Conservative government.

Mr Oubridge criticised the UK’s “archaic and dysfunctional” first-past-the-post voting system as well as Ukip candidate Mr Palethorpe, who left before the result was announced.

Mr Palethorpe said: “Let’s face it, with seven weeks to get it sorted, it was always going to be tricky.”

Turnout was 53,399 (73.26 per cent), slightly higher than in 2015.

There were a total of 88 spoiled ballots.