It's now time to deliver on Brexit – then the government can get on with the pressing domestic agenda.

That’s the view of Richard Drax who was re-elected for the fourth time as South Dorset’s MP – as the Conservatives scored a crushing election victory.

As Prime Minister Boris Johnson was returned to Number 10 with the biggest Conservative majority since Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, the Tories also gained a clean sweep across Dorset.

Mr Drax saw his majority over the Labour candidate increase by more than 5,000 compared to the 2017 election as he gained 30,024 votes following polling on Thursday.

He said: “There’s no doubt now that with a majority, the good thing is we can now deliver. For the past three-and-a-half years MPs have failed to honour the referendum result – and clearly at this election many MPs have felt the anger of voters who had felt betrayed by them.

“Now we can get on with Brexit – which won’t be easy to complete – but at least we have the majority to get it through. And then we can back onto the domestic agenda which has inevitably been pushed to one side over the past few years. Education, the police, the NHS, the armed forces and our veterans – there’s a whole raft of things we need to focus on, and that applies to South Dorset as well as across the country.”

Mr Drax added: “EU businesspeople want a deal. We want a deal. Both us and the EU will continue to trade freely and, free of EU constraints, we will reach out across the world – and the world is keen to be reached. It will create prosperity and jobs and at last, we will be a sovereign country once more. We will be in control of our laws, our borders and our money.”

South Dorset election results were announced in Weymouth shortly after 4am on Friday.

Labour candidate Carrolyn Parkes took 12,871 votes - down 4,569 since Labour candidate Tashi Warr stood in 2017.

Liberal Democrat candidate Nick Ireland received 5,432 votes, Jon Orrell for the Green Party had 2,246 votes and Independent Joseph Green won 485 votes. The result came after exit polls predicted a landslide victory for the Conservatives.

Labour’s Carralyn Parkes said: ‘My reaction to the result tonight is that it’s been a long and comradely campaign. We have met lots and lots of new friends – our friends are people who care about the NHS, they care about schools, they care about housing, they care about jobs, they care about a better and brighter future for our country.”

Mrs Parkes congratulated Mr Drax on his victory and added how she hopes he ‘takes good care’ of the constituency. “We will be watching,” she said.

Green candidate Jon Orrell said: “It seems we re-ran the Brexit referendum in south Dorset. 60 per cent for Brexit and 60 per cent tonight. Sadly the needs of the planet, our schools and our NHS have been forgotten.”