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Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden has been re-elected to parliament with a majority of just 20 votes.
The MP, who served as a minister without portfolio in Rishi Sunak’s government, secured 12,905 votes while Labour secured 12,885.
The results had been expected to come in at 12.15am but there were significant delays after a recount.
Holden made headlines after parachuting himself in to a previously safe Tory seat of Basildon and Billericay in Essex – with a majority exceeding 20,000 – having previously confirming his dedication to the North East.
He was first elected in 2019 as the MP to North West Durham, close to 300 miles away, but that seat was abolished in this year’s boundary changes.