CONSERVATIVE candidate Luke Graham made huge gains to oust the SNP's Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh in the Ochil and South Perthshire constituency.

Luke will now represent local residents as MP at Westminster after taking 22,469 votes in the snap General Election after electors went to the polls on Thursday, June 8.

He nearly doubled his share of the vote, having come third with just under 12,000 ballot papers in 2015.

During his victory speech he thanked all involved in conducting the count and his fellow party members for their support during the campaign.

Luke added this election was focused around “sending a clear message to put some of the division of the last few years behind us and start looking forward to some of the issues we need to tackle as an entire country, as a United Kingdom.”

The turnout was just above 70 per cent, down from nearly 75 per cent two years ago.

It was a close race for Tasmina, who received 19,110 votes, down from her 26,620 when she was elected in 2015.

She said it has been “a privilege” to represent the constituency and also paid tribute to her team for their work throughout the campaign and the past two years.

While she could not retain her seat, Tasmina was confident her nationalist colleagues will win elsewhere in the country, adding: “And that means Scotland's voice will be heard and the Scottish Parliament will be respected.”

Labour's Joanne Ross gained the trust of 10,847 voters, compared to 16,452 for former MP Gordon Banks in 2015.

She thanked everyone who voted for her and said that while it was not to be in this constituency, she was hopeful “we will wake up to a Labour government tomorrow”.

Liberal Democrat candidate Dr Iliyan Stefanov took the smallest share of the ballot papers with 1,742 to his name, managing to gain a few hundred extra votes compared to two years ago.

He said he was happy with the result, saying “today democracy wins” and adding he hopes one day his party will too.

Luke won with a majority of 3,359, compared to Tasmina's majority of more than 10,000 in 2015.

While the result was relatively close, the General Election of 2005 will still hold the record. Back then, Labour MP Gordon Banks beat the SNP's Annabelle Ewing by just 688 votes.

Altogether, 54,245 people cast their votes with the Tory candidate receiving more than 41 per cent of the papers. The SNP's Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh received 35 per cent, Labour's Joanne Ross attracted 20 per cent while Lib Dem Dr Stefanov's share stood at around three per cent.

This is the first time a Conservative candidate has been elected to represent the area since the Ochil and South Perthshire constituency was created in 2005.