Lib Dems gain in Hemel

4.29.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 7th May 2010

Liberal Democrats in Hemel Hempstead are celebrating a big gain as Dr Richard Grayson moved into second place, while the Labour Party fell apart. In a seat which was supposed to be one of Labour's main targets for a win, Richard Grayson's vote went up by 6%, while Labour lost nearly 20%.

Commenting on the result, Richard Grayson said:

"This result is a tribute both to my team's hard work over several years, and also to the boost given by Nick Clegg's performance in the leaders' debates. These two factors have combined to give us one of our bigger increases in the country. Labour was working tirelessly to squeeze our vote but they failed to do so. I am committed to working hard for the people of Hemel and look forward to continuing to build our local strength."

Full results:

Party Votes % % change on 2005*

Conservative 24,721 50.0 +9.9

Liberal Democrat 11,315 22.9 +6.0

Labour 10,295 20.8 -18.9

BNP 1,615 3.3 +3.3

UKIP 1,254 2.5 -0.7

Independent 271 0.5 +0.5

Turnout: 49,471 (68% +3.7% on 2005)