Conservative Greg Knight is re-elected in East Yorkshire

Conservative Greg Knight has vowed to push forward with plans for a Bridlington Marina after being re-elected with a majority to represent East Yorkshire at Parliament.
The Conservatives celebrate a win in East Yorkshire.The Conservatives celebrate a win in East Yorkshire.
The Conservatives celebrate a win in East Yorkshire.

Knight, Greg (Conservative) - 31,442

Clark, Alan (Labour) - 16,436

Minns, Carl (Liberal Democrats) - 2,134

Greg Knight speaks after being re-elected.Greg Knight speaks after being re-elected.
Greg Knight speaks after being re-elected.

Dennis, Andrew (UKIP) - 1,986

Norman, Tim (Yorkshire Party) - 1,085

Jackson, Mike (Green) - 943

Mr Knight received 31,442 votes, a total share of 58.2% and an increase of 7.6% since the last General Election in 2015.

Greg Knight speaks after being re-elected.Greg Knight speaks after being re-elected.
Greg Knight speaks after being re-elected.

He said: “Well I am delighted. I have achieved the biggest amount of votes I have ever had and the largest majority so I am delighted. However my delight is tinged with sadness with other Conservative MPs losing their seats elsewhere in the United Kingdom.

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“I want to see the Marina get the go ahead in Bridlington. I’m a very keen advocate of the Marina. I feel we can build on the tourist base which is already growing this year. I will be trying to work with the council to make sure we put Bridlington on the map in a bigger way than it has been.”

Mr Knight also felt an increased presence in Pocklington had an impact in his biggest majority since becoming East Yorkshire’s MP in 2001.

“For the first time I had a campaign office in Pocklington which I found a great asset to me. The constituents told me their issues which was really useful. We have a few loose ends to tie up in terms of flood alleviation schemes which I want to see taken to fruition because people shouldn’t have to worry about their homes being flooded.”

Mr Knight went viral earlier in the week for an election video published on YouTube. When asked if he believed the video had a big impact on result, he said: “The video was a bit of fun but what has astonished me is the number of people of emails off people asking can they buy it? They find it so catchy they want a copy of it.

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“I’d like to thank everyone who voted for me from East Yorkshire.”

Labour’s Alan Clark beat the Liberal Democrats to second place.

However he fell behind the reigning Tory victor by 15,006 votes, racking up a total of 16,436 and gaining a 30 per cent share.

Commenting on Labour’s performance, Mr Clark said: “We have done really well. We set out to hold the vote we did last time and we’ve significantly increased that. It is quite clear that the people want either Labour or the Tories.

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The Liberal Democrats’ Carl Minns received 2,134 votes - a significant decrease from the 2,966 votes they chalked up in 2015.

UKIP’s Andrew Dennis got 1,986 votes, 148 behind the Liberal Democrats, claiming just 3.7% share of the vote.

Tim Norman, representing the Yorkshire Party, collected an impressive 1,085 votes and vowed to be back stronger next time round.

He said: “You haven’t seen the last of the Yorkshire Party. We will certainly be back.”

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The total number of people who registered in the East Yorkshire constituency stood at 81,065, with actual turnout at 66.67 per cent. The figure represents a rise of 5% since the last Election.

The Green’s candidate Mike Jackson achieved a share of 1.7% with 943 votes.