CONSERVATIVE Michelle Donelan has sworn she will keep all her promises as Chippenham’s new MP, a position she won with a resounding majority of more than 10,000 votes.

In the 2010 election there were only 2,470 votes difference between Liberal Democrat winner Duncan Hames and the Conservative Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones.

This year’s was also predicted to be extremely close, and the turnout was slightly higher at 74.79 per cent, rather than 72.74 per cent.

The media were expecting to have an extended wait for a recount, but an hour before the result was announced, Miss Donelan was confident enough to declare: “I am very excited about the challenge.

“It is a foregone conclusion.”

The acting returning officer announced at around 3.35am, an hour earlier than expected, that Miss Donelan had taken 47.5 per cent of the votes, compared with 29.4 per cent for Mr Hames.

UKIP came third with 10.6 per cent, pushing Labour into fourth place with 8.2 per cent. The Green Party won 4.2 per cent – with five times as many votes as they did in 2010.

Miss Donelan’s parents, Kathryn and Michael, were able to share their daughter’s proud moment after travelling down from her hometown of Whitley in Cheshire.

Mrs Donelan said: “We are so immensely proud you wouldn’t believe it.”

On hearing the result Miss Donelan told the room she would be keeping all the promises she had made.

She said: "It is actually the greatest honour of my life that the people of Chippenham have chosen me. It is a dream come true.

"But the reality is, I am going to deliver and I am not going to let the people down. I am going to spend all of my time in Parliament ensuring that all of my constituents come first."

She pledged to regenerate the town centres, bring in jobs and protect green spaces.

Duncan Hames lost his seat only an hour after watching his wife Jo Swinson lose hers in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, where she came second to SNP.

He congratulated Miss Donelan on her victory and said: “I have absolutely loved my work over the last five years and it has been fairly relentless nonetheless. I will look back fondly on the times that I have spent working with local people to make a difference for our community.

“And I won’t be short of reminders either, from the new college building here in Chippenham, to the rail service through Melksham, the new factory in Bradford on Avon and the digital hub at the mansion house in Corsham – projects that I have been able to play my part in to help become a reality. And I am so grateful to have had that opportunity, it has been a privilege and a joy.”

Labour’s Andy Newman said: “It is with regret we say goodbye to Duncan.

“We did expect to do better this time and that’s what we’ve done. The Labour party in Chippenham are on the scene.”

UKIP’s Julia Reid said: “Next time we’ll do even better.”

The Wiltshire Council Chippenham Hardenhuish by-election was won by Conservative Melody Thompson with 1,154 votes, Green candidate Tina Johnston taking 416 and Lib Dem Ken Brough 864.

Ms Johnston said: "I've really enjoyed the adventure, I've got a taste for it now. I'll do it again."