Cheltenham Lib Dem MP increases his majority

General Election 2010: Lib Dems hold Cheltenham

General Election 2010: Lib Dems hold Cheltenham

By Aled Thomas

Cheltenham, the number six target on the Conservatives’ hit list has been held by the Liberal Democrats.

And the sitting MP Martin Horwood has even increased his majority, which had been reduced to three figures by boundary changes.

Mr Horwood received 26,659 votes in what was very much a two-horse race against Conservative challenger Mark Coote, who also gained more than 21,000 votes.

The failure to take the seat, the only one in Gloucestershire not to be won last night by the Tories, puts another nail in the coffin of David Cameron’s ambitions to form a government.