Labour's John Woodcock is Barrow and Furness MP

The 31-year-old Labour candidate gained 21,226 votes at the polls in the new Barrow and Furness constituency.

His victory, after a count at Barrow Town Hall which began at 10pm yesterday and was declared at 4am today, means 18 years of Labour rule will continue.

Mr Woodcock, who headed off to join friends and supporters in a local pub after the result, said: “I am so proud and delighted.

“It is an enormous privilege to be able to ask for support in the first place, and then to have people support me at the polls.

“These are not easy times but the families of the area have put their faith in me and what I have to do is fight for those people, night and day, and stand up for them in the way they deserve.”

Mr Woodcock said he was determined to be a constant presence in the town, despite the need to make regular trips to Parliament in London.

“The days when MPs would spend most of their time in London have gone.

"This is the community that I am proud to be a part of.”

Conservative candidate John Gough, who won more than 16,000 votes, said: “I am obviously disappointed but I am very grateful for the amount of Conservatives who voted for me, and I wish John all the best as the new MP.”

In third place was Barry Rabone, Liberal Democrat, with just under 4,500 votes.

He believed the Trident issue had been a key reason for his lack of votes, with his party declaring during the campaign that it wanted a full review of the need for the nuclear submarine.

“I am disappointed with the result. The party line over Trident has strength because I think we do need renewable energy and we need to conserve energy, to insulate buildings, and these would bring many sustainable jobs to the area.

“But the thing about the Trident issue is we don’t know if it will actually go ahead because we don’t know if how far down the line the Government will go, or how they would pay for it. We are still going into the unknown.”

Voter turnout was 64.4 per cent, up five per cent on five years ago, when John Hutton, Mr Woodcock’s Labour predecessor who stood down for this election, held the seat he had won in 1992.

John Woodcock: key aims

1. The remoteness of the Furness peninsula, being 220 miles from London, has often proved a stumbling block and Mr Woodcock is determined to make sure his public is heard in Parliament He said: “I think the job of standing up for this area is hugely important and with the Con-Lib Dem coalition government there is a very real risk that local economies like Barrow and Furness are cut off and not given the support, extra jobs and investment from new businesses.”

2. After the end of the Cold War, Barrow suffered a massive decline with its workforce shrinking from 14,500 in 1990 to 5,800 in February 1995.

Since then, a major regeneration programme helped by the North West Development Agency has improved the town’s fortunes. Mr Woodcock wants to ensure this continues.

3. “I have got to make the case that it’s absolutely the right thing to support this area.

"The Lib Dems and Conservatives have both talked about cutting off regional development agencies and this would have huge economic consequences for the whole of South Lakeland and Furness, so I will be making the case for keeping these agencies.”

John Woodcock: the CV

> Sheffield-born, he has a degree in English from Edinburgh University where he was active in student politics.

> He was a journalist on the Scotsman before deciding he could make a bigger difference by moving into the world of politics.

> In London he worked for cabinet minister John Hutton, his predecessor as Barrow MP, before working as a special adviser to former Prime Minister Gordon Brown from October 2008 to October 2009.

> He received glowing praise from Mr Brown, who said he was ‘passionate’ about the area and would make a ‘brilliant MP for Barrow and Furness’.

> He is married to Mandy, and they have a young daughter, Maisie.

> He supports Sheffield Wednesday and also follows FA Trophy winners Barrow AFC and Barrow Raiders.