DAVID Mundell has been re-elected as the MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale.

Nearly 20 years after becoming an MP in 2005, Mr Mundell held the seat with 14,999 votes.

He was clearly ecstatic as he cheered before shaking hands with Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (DCT) returning officer Dawn Roberts.

Ms Roberts said: “I declare that David Gordon Mundell has been duly elected to serve as MP for the DCT constituency.”

DCT was one of the last constituencies to declare at 9.50am on Friday, later even than Argyll, which includes many islands where polling boxes must be delivered by helicopter.

Earlier Ms Roberts announced the final results and said: “I hereby give notice that the total number of votes polled for each candidate was as follows: Dominic Ashmole, Scottish Greens, 1,488; Drummond Begg, Scottish Liberal Democrats, 2,800; Dan Coleman, Scottish Labour, 10,140; Gareth Kirk, Scottish Family Party, 208; David Kirkwood, Reform UK, 3,822; Kim Marshall, Scottish National Party, 10,757.”

Ms Roberts announced the results after a marathon count when the constituency became third-from-last in Scotland and the UK to declare.

The total votes counted were 44,347. There was a turnout of 61.7 per cent, with Mr Mundell winning a majority of 4,242.

Mr Mundell said: “I am very conscious of how long many have been in this hall, some for over 12 hours.

“I am absolutely delighted because I don’t think there are many other Conservative candidates who have achieved this this evening.

“It is a huge honour for me to be elected in this constituency.

“In May I completed 25 years of service to this area (Mr Mundell was a member of the Scottish Parliament from 1999 before becoming an MP in 2005).

“I don’t take any election for granted and I am humble to be re-elected today.”