LABOUR’S Andrew Smith stood victorious at Oxford Town Hall this morning after retaining his Oxford East seat from Liberal Democrat challenger Steve Goddard.

Hundreds of supporters shouted and waved as the final count was read out by Lord Mayor Mary Clarkson, revealing that Mr Smith had increased his majority since 2005, winning 21,938 of the votes.

Addressing a packed Town Hall a triumphant Mr Smith said: “Thank you to the people of East Oxford for this resounding vote of confidence this evening.

“This is a remarkable result here in Oxford East.”

Liberal Democrat candidate Dr Goddard had hoped to take the seat from former cabinet minister Mr Smith after 23 years.

He won 17,357 of the votes, whilst Conservative Ed Argar won 9,727.

Sixty four per cent of the electorate, or 52,017 voters, turned out to vote in the closely fought Oxford East battle, up almost six per cent on 2005.

Just 963 votes separated Labour’s Andrew Smith from Lib Dem Dr Goddard in the 2005 General Election, with the Iraq war cited as one of the reasons for his dwindling majority.

However, Lib Dem spokesman Patrick Murray said this year’s campaign had focused on topics such as improving the NHS and tax cuts for low to middle income earners.

He added: “Locally, we have been campaigning on things like public toilets which has been a big concern.

“There has been a good reaction on the doorstep. People have been saying that they are fed up with 13 years of Labour, they are not convinced by the Tories and they like what they have seen of Nick Clegg, particularly younger voters.

“The message we’ve been getting is that people want change.”

A Labour spokesman said: “We have pushed our excellent local candidate.”

Conservative candidate Ed Argar said: “It has been one of the hardest fought and most passionately fought election contests in the country.

“We have been fighting for decent affordable housing of the right size in the city, with the need to protect the city's green spaces, giving greater power to local people to get the balance right.”

Roger Crawford, from the Equal Parenting Alliance, wore a court jester's hat to the count which he said represented the family court system.

“Every candidate has expressed support for what I’m standing for. I’ve had a lot of support from people in East Oxford who said they can’t vote for me but they would sign my petition.”