New Forest West bucked the national trend by returning Desmond Swayne with an increased majority for the Conservatives.
Mr Swayne won the seat with 24,575 - a 13,191 majority over his nearest candidate, Liberal Democrat Mike Bignell, to maintain the constituency's status as one of the Tory's safest seats and give the party something small to cheer about on an otherwise disastrous night. In 1997 Desmond Swayne had an 11,332 majority.
As enormity of the Conservative's humiliating defeat became clear Desmond Swayne acknowledged that the national result was "ghastly."
He said: "There's no doubt that significant work has to be done after the election but at the moment I can't say what the answer is for the Conservative Party. One thing I do know is William Hague should remain our leader."
Turnout in New Forest West was ten per cent down on the 1997 election but with a figure of 65.39 per cent it scored highly compared to the rest of the country.
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