General Election 2019: Conservatives hold Dartford as Gareth Johnson increases majority
06:10, 13 December 2019
updated: 06:58, 13 December 2019
Tory Gareth Johnson retained his seat on a triumphant night which saw Boris Johnson gain a majority as Labour faced heavy losses.
Mr Johnson reclaimed Dartford after receiving 34,006 votes, followed by Labour's Sacha Gosine with 14,846, Liberal Democrat Kyle Marsh with 3,735 and the Green Party's Mark Lindop with 1,435.
The result mean he increased his majority by nearly 3,000.
It was a hectic night for around 50 volunteers as more ballots than expected came into the Fairfield Leisure Centre, Lowfield Street, despite initial thoughts a winter election may put voters off.
However, it was later revealed to be the lowest turnout since 2010 with 54,307 (66.1%) people voting. A total of 280 ballots were rejected.
Speaking after his victory, Mr Johnson thanked his agent Richard Wells, council leader Cllr Jeremy Kite (Con), Kent Police and his wife.
He said: "I said at the last general election we have the finest police force in the country and I meant it. We do, and we're very lucky and fortunate to have them. Thank you for keeping us safe here and throughout this entire campaign. I'd also like to thank my wife Wendy for her continued support and tolerance.
"I want to thank both the other candidates who are here tonight, Sacha and Kyle, for their contributions to this campaign.
"Most importantly I want to thank the people of Dartford for this huge vote of confidence. I'll continue working extremely hard for you all.
"This result is a vindication of our determination to stand by the Brexit result. I will continue to do so. My message is whether you voted Leave or Remain, we will continue now working beyond that and concentrating on other issues which people are so passionate about.
"I'm very, very humbled again to be elected as the member of parliament for Dartford and I'll do my utmost best to ensure this town we're all so proud of thrives and flourishes for the next four to five years."
When questioned on which issues were raised most by the people on the doorstep the majority of candidates explained residents' concerns about the NHS and Brexit, apart from Mark Lindop who was not at the event.
Lib Dem Mr Marsh said: "In Dartford the main issue was the NHS, even more so than Brexit. People were concerned about the future of our country and if our health service is secure and whether it's in safe hands."
Mr Johnson said Brexit was a key issue for residents, who 64.2% of people voted for.
He added: "Everywhere I went people were very frustrated Brexit hadn't been delivered. People voted by 2/3 for it in Dartford. I felt frustrated, we all felt frustrated."
"People saw in the House of Commons how efforts to deliver Bexit were being blocked and people wanted us to get on with it and come out of the European Union and focus on all the other important issues which people care and worry about."
Despite some festive joy with volunteer donning Christmas jumpers as the night ran into national Christmas jumper day, some candidates were left disappointed.
Labour's Sacha Gosine was left "disappointed" after picking up 27% of the vote.
Although it was a disastrous night for the party, Mr Gosine said he was happy with his campaign and what he achieved.
He said: "Even though you're fighting the elements during this campaign with the cold weather, which I'm surprised hasn't given me a cold, I've really enjoyed my time doing it.
"I had a great team behind me and made some great videos on social media and I've engaged with the youth which is what I really wanted to do in this campaign, which was to get the Labour voice out there and for people to understand what we're about and for them to understand where we're coming from.
"We're not about party politics, we're about getting something done for the community."
