General election 2019: Labour holds two seats in borough but Conservatives pull off massive local shock result

Lisa Nandy in Wigan and Yvonne Fovargue in Makerfield will both be returning to the House of Commons but their majorities were slashed.

Related: Local election 2019 live: follow the results and reaction through the nightAnd Leigh has a non-Labour MP for the first time in almost a century as local councillor James Grundy, representing the Conservatives, pulled off a massive surprise by unseating Jo Platt.

Ms Nandy won by 16,000 votes in Wigan two years ago but her majority was more than halved as she finished just under 7,000 votes clear of her nearest challenger from the Conservative Party.

Similarly Ms Fovargue saw her majority heavily reduced, winning by around 4,700 votes from the Conservatives in a seat where she finished nearly 14,000 votes clear in 2017.

The count at Robin Park Indoor Sports Centre was filled with anxious Labour faces from the time the 10pm exit poll forecast the Conservatives would win a comfortable parliamentary majority.

In her victory speech Ms Nandy called the campaign "the toughest election I can remember" and had some strong words for her party as it lost a string of seats to the Tories across the country.

She said: "I met many people during the campaign, lifelong Labour voters, who told me that they need a Labour government but simply couldn't vote for us in this general election.

"I have listened, I have heard you, and I will make it my mission from this day forward to bring Labour home to you."

Ms Fovargue was also full of praise for the volunteers and supporters who had backed her during the weeks of campaigning and spoke of some of those she had met on the election trail, particularly Waspi women who had seen the age they could collect their state pension shift.

She said: "These people need a Labour government and it is these people I will support and work for as a Labour MP. I will continue to be a strong voice for Makerfield."

In both Wigan and Makerfield the Conservatives came runner-up, with the Brexit Party third ahead of the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party.

However, the biggest result in the borough came in Leigh where Wigan Council's deputy leader of the opposition Coun Grundy ensured the town will be represented by a politician wearing the blue rosette in a seat previously held by Labour since 1922.

He eventually beat Ms Platt in a narrow race by 21,266 votes to 19,301.

Afterwards he said: "It still hasn't sunk in, it feels unreal.

"When the provisional results came out we knew it was close, we couldn't work out if we were just ahead or behind.

"It's an incredible honour to represent Leigh at a parliamentary level. It is my home town and now it is important for me to deliver for my community."

The full results in the borough were:

Wigan: Lisa Nandy (Labour) 21,042; Ashley Williams (Conservatives) 14,314; William Malloy (Brexit Party) 5,959; Stuart Thomas (Liberal Democrats) 2,428; Peter Jacobs (Green Party) 1,299.

Makerfield: Yvonne Fovargue (Labour) 19,954; Nick King (Conservatives) 15,214; Ross Wright (Brexit Party) 5,817; John Skipworth (Liberal Democrats) 2,108; Sheila Shaw (Green Party) 1,166.

Leigh: James Grundy (Conservatives) 21,266; Jo Platt (Labour) 19,301; James Melly (Brexit Party) 3,161; Richard Clayton (Liberal Democrats) 2,252; Ann O'Bern (Independent) 551; Leon Peters (Ukip) 448.