CONSERVATIVE MP James Arbuthnot has something in common with the Labour government. He has been elected for a third term too.

Mr Arbuthnot, 52, was named as the winner in North East Hampshire just after 7am on Friday following a marathon counting session at Hart Leisure Centre in Fleet. He polled 53.7 per cent of the vote, slightly more than in 2001, to claim a majority of 26.5 per cent.

Turnout in the constituency was up on 2001 at 64.8 per cent, with 47,287 people getting out to vote - an improvement of 3.2 per cent.

Mr Arbuthnot was delighted to have won the voters' endorsement for a third term.

"I am both pleased and honoured to have been re-elected," he said. "I am proud to serve my third term and North East Hampshire is a fantastic place to represent.

"I will be working to ensure that the pledges I made are acted upon. I do not want to see the area over-developed and I will fight to get a better deal for the area's commuters.

"The Conservatives are making steady progress across the country and this result will be a good stepping stone."

Mr Carew was also happy with the result, both locally and nationally.

He said: "I am delighted to have increased the Liberal Democrat share of the vote. It was what I was hoping to do.

"Nationally, it has been a good night for us. We have won some more seats and improved our share of the vote still further."

Labour candidate Kevin McGrath polled 7,630 votes - a 3.8 per cent drop from 2001.

"I was pleased with the way the campaign went," he said. "We tried something a bit different by giving DVDs about me to 800 people, telling them about me and what Labour stands for. In the end there was not much we could do. The Tories were always going to win.

"Nationally, it is a fantastic result for us to have secured an historic third term. It feels a bit flat because our majority has fallen, but Tony Blair is a fantastic leader who has seen us through three elections. Long may he reign."

Paul Birch, the UKIP candidate, did not attend the count, preferring to stay in the Isle of Wight, where he was fighting to secure a place on the island's county council. He attracted only 1,392 votes and lost his deposit.

Jules Samuels, returning officer, said there was not one particular reason why the count took so long.

"Sorting the postal votes took time, and with three elections parliamentary, county and by-elections going on at once, it took a while to sort and verify the ballot papers," she said.

"We are looking into what happened.

"We would have hoped not to take so long, but it is accuracy rather than speed that is important."