FAVOURITE John Whittingdale has won a landslide victory for the Conservatives and will represent the new Maldon constituency.

He won by a majority of 19,407- an increased majority of 6,834 on the 2005 result.

It means he received almost 60 per cent of all the votes in what is thought to be one of the biggest successes for the Conservative Party across the whole country.

He first represented the district in 1992 and has held the seat, in its various forms, ever since.

The delighted MP said: "I am extremely grateful to the people of Maldon for re-electing me.

"The constituency has changed quite a bit and there are new areas that I will work hard to get to know.

"This is a fantastic result for the Conservatives in Maldon.

"It is a great privilege to serve and I am very grateful."

He took the opportunity to look ahead to the next few years and pointed to major issues for the area such as the proposed wind farms in the Dengie Peninsula, the possible prison in Runwell and countryside development in particular.

Mr Whittingdale added: "Maldon and this part of Essex is a pretty nice place to live and I want to keep it that way.

This has always been a good Conservative area and in this election there is no question there is a strong feeling against the Labour Government.

"I was aware of more support on the doorstep than in any election I have previously fought."

He also pledged to begin surgeries in the new parts of the constituency including South Woodham Ferrers and Stock.

But he refused to be drawn on what role he would like in a new Conservative Government if the party does achieve a majority only saying "we shall wait and see".

Mr Whittingdale put some of his success down to the boundary changes and will now be waiting to find out how his colleagues have faired.

Liberal Democrat candidate Elfreda Tealby-Watson finished second with 9,254 votes.

Turnout was 67.8 per cent and postal votes topped 5,000 for the first time.

Mr Whittingdale will enter his second decade as the MP for the majority of the Maldon district after success at his fifth general election in a row.

After winning in 1992 he has represented the district for 18 years and while the name and boundaries has changed - from South Colchester and Maldon to Maldon and East Chelmsford to simply Maldon for 2010 - his popularity has not.

This time he can boast a majority of more than 19,000. In 2005 his majority was 12,573 and he polled more than 50 per cent of the vote - with a turnout of just over two thirds. In 2001 he achieved a majority of 8,462 - or 49.2 per cent of the vote.

Back in 1997 his majority was just over 10,000 despite Labour's landslide victory nationally.

Although this majority was less than half the 21,821 majority he achieved in his first General Election in 1992 when he received 54.8 per cent of the vote.

This time was also the first in recent memory that the Maldon district was not entirely within one constituency.

South Woodham Ferrers and some of the surrounding villages and Margaretting have become part of the newly named Maldon constituency.

But Tolleshunt D'Arcy, Wickham Bishops, Great Totham, Woodham Walter, Woodham Mortimer and Tollesbury among others are now part of the new Witham constituency.

Mr Whittingdale defeated Swatantra Nandanwar representing Labour, Elfreda Tealby-Watson from the Liberal Democrats, Len Blain from the British National Party (BNP) and Jesse Pryke from the UK Independence Party (UKIP).

However the result will not come as much of a surprise with some bookmakers having had him at 1/500 to win the seat.