²ÝÁñÉçÇø

Sir Mark Spencer has lost his Sherwood Forest seat at the General Election.

As results starting to come through in the early hours of the morning, the former Farming Minister had only managed to gain 13,398 votes compared to Labour's Michelle Welsh, who won 18,841 seats.

With a family farming background, Sir Mark had held the seat since 2010 - winning four consecutive elections in the process.

READ NOW: EXCLUSIVE: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak - "We're sticking to our plan to back Britain's farmers"

However, he gained 18,651 fewer votes that what he had gained during the 2019 election

The former Royal Agricultural Society of England trustee had only gained 2,078 votes more than the Reform UK candidate. 

He said: "I would first of all like to thank all of you who voted for me, and those who have supported me for the 14 years as your MP. Having the chance to represent the place I call home was very special l, and something I will remember forever.

"Congratulations to Michelle, it is a privilege and a honour representing this community and I wish her the best of luck."

Speaking after her victory against the former National Federation of Young ²ÝÁñÉçÇø' Clubs chair, Ms Welsh said: "I am so humbled, honoured and privileged to be elected as your Labour MP for Sherwood Forest.

"Together, we campaigned for change and overturned a massive majority of over 16,000.

"Thank you so much to each and every single person who put their faith in me.

"I will honour the trust you have given me and I will work tirelessly to earn that trust from all of you."

The Sherwood Forest results:

Michelle Welsh (Lab) - 18,841

Sir Mark Spencer (Con) – 13,398

Helen O'Hare (Reform) – 11,320

Sheila Greatrex-White (Green) – 2,216

David Dobbie (Lib Dem) – 1,838

Lee Waters (Ind) – 864

READ NOW: From the Prime Minister to the Farming Minister: Rural seats to watch in the General Election