LLOYD Hatton was elected as South Dorset MP this morning after narrowly beating Richard Drax of the Conservatives.

Hatton won the election with a majority of just over 1,000 votes and overturned a majority of 17,153 from the last election in 2019.

The other story of the night is that Reform UK performed better in the constituency that the Lib Dems – securing 151 more votes and landing in third place.

Before yesterday’s poll, the Tories held seats in West Dorset, South Dorset, Mid-Dorset and North Poole and North Dorset.

Overnight, only one of those seats remained blue – North Dorset – with the others falling.

READ MORE: Chris Loder and Michael Tomlinson lose seats in hard night for Tories across the vale

Chris Loder, the Conservative former MP for West Dorset, was defeated by Liberal Democrat Edward Morello, who secured a majority of more than 7,000.

Michael Tomlinson, a former illegal migration minister in Rishi Sunak’s government, narrowly lost his seat to the Liberal Democrats, where Vikki Slade secured a tight 500-vote majority.

The solitary piece of good news for the Conservatives came in North Dorset, where Simon Hoare retained his seat, albeit with a much-reduced majority of just 1,600.

Lloyd Hatton won with a narrow majority Picture: Lloyd Hatton on X

Richard Drax of the Conservatives narrowly came in second place, followed by Morgan Young of Reform in third, Matt Bell of Lib Dems in fourth, Catherine Bennett of the Green Party in fifth, Joy Wilson (Independent) in sixth, Giovanna Lewis (Independent) in seventh and Rosie Morrell (Independent) in eighth.

South Dorset results: 
Lloyd Hatton – Labour: 15,659
Richard Drax – Conservatives: 14,611
Morgan Young – Reform UK: 8,168
Matt Bell – Liberal Democrats: 8,017
Catherine Bennett – Green Party: 2,153
Joy Wilson – Independent: 192
Giovanna Lewis – Independent: 185
Rosie Morrell – Independent: 52