IT was a case of no change for East Lancashire's MPs as all regained their seats in the General Election.

But some victories were closer than others with, two Tory majorities cut and big gains for Labour.

Ribble Valley's Nigel Evans immediately attacked the Conservative Party’s manifesto and national campaign for his party’s overall failure to win a majority.

Despite holding onto his ‘True Blue’ seat by more than 13,000 votes, he launched a fierce attack on Prime Minister Theresa May and her high command.

His vote of 31,919 was his biggest ever, but Labour candidate David Hinder saw a surge from his 11,798 in 2015 to 18,720.

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Mr Evans branded his party’s manifesto ‘dire’ and its campaign ‘awful’,

Mr Evans said: “I am humbled by the biggest vote I have ever received.

“The manifesto was a dire document which attacked our core vote.

“We must learn the lessons pronto.

“We allowed our campaign to be hijacked by ourselves and it was awful. “

Re-elected Labour MP Kate Hollern said her increased majority sent out a clear message that ‘the cuts must stop’.

She regained her Blackburn seat in Parliament yesterday with the gap between her and second placed Bob Eastwood increasing from 12,760 two years ago to 20,368.

It was the biggest majority for Labour since the constituency was recreated in 1955, dwarfing her predecessor Jack Straw largest win of 14,445 in 1997.

The other surprise of the night was ‘Venky’s Out’ Independent Duncan Miller relegating Liberal Democrat Irfan Ahmed into fourth place.

The turnout at 67.5 per cent was above 2015’s 60.1 per cent and the swing to Labour was 13.5 per cent.

Mr Eastwood blamed confusion over the Tory manifesto policy on adult social care for the slight increase in his vote failing to match the big increase in Mrs Hollern’s.

She said: “I am over the moon.

“I am delighted and humbled by this result.

“It sends out a clear message to whoever forms the next government, the cuts must stop.

“The people have had enough of austerity.”

Julie Cooper almost doubled her majority as she retained the Burnley seat.

With 18,832 votes, Mrs Cooper swept aside her Conservative and Liberal Democrat rivals after a swift count.

Paul White, the conservative candidate, took second place with 12,479 votes, followed by Gordon Birtwistle, the Liberal Democrat candidate and former MP, with 6,046 votes.

Mrs Cooper won by 6,353 votes, a large gain on the 3,344 majority she gained in 2015.

A huge smile beamed from Mrs Cooper’s face as members of her team applauded her on the podium.

Mrs Cooper said the win showed the hard work her party had put in.

She said: “It was an amazing night. To think I almost doubled my majority. I take it as a huge compliment.

“The people of Burnley and Padiham trust me."

Graham Jones retained his seat with an increased majority to defeat the challenge of the Conservative candidate.

Mr Jones is now set for this third term in Parliament after gaining a majority of 5,815 votes.

In total he collected 24,120 votes despite the increased challenge this time around from the returning Tory candidate Kevin Horkin.

Prior to the announcement of the results, both sides admitted they expected the decision to be close.

Mr Jones said he was pleased to gain the victory and thanked his supporters, particularly his partner Kim Whitehead.

He said: “My promise is a simple one, I promise that I will work hard for people.

“The one thing that sticks with me is that 18,000 people last time and 24,000 people this time made the conscious decision to come out and vote for me.

“I’m grateful for each and everyone of them that made the decision."

Mr Horkin said: “We’ve managed to increase the number of people who voted for us by more than 4,500.

“It was a very strong show from Labour in Hyndburn. In the end not enough of the UKIP voters came our way.”

Labour slashed the Conservative majority in Pendle – but it was still Andrew Stephenson who came away a three-time winner in the polls.

Borough councillor Wayne Blackburn gave the defending Mr Stephenson a scare at Pendle Leisure Centre in Colne, polling 20,707 to the Tory’s winning total of 21,986.

But the Conservative politician insisted his slimmer margin could be explained by UKIP voters, who deserted Labour in 2015, returning to the fold.

Mr Stephenson said: “Speaking to voters on the doorstep, I was still told that people would rather it was Theresa May leading the Brexit negotiations than Jeremy Corbyn.

“But I’m proud to be representing Pendle for another five years and I intend to honour my commitment to represent everyone in this borough, regardless of whether they voted for me or not.”

In his acceptance speech the new MP thanked his constituency and Parliamentary staff, including agent Tom Watson.

Mr Stephenson also paid tribute to his former agent George Askew, who died from a drugs overdose last year, who he said had helped to ‘lay the foundations’ for his success in Pendle.

Mr Blackburn, who has only been a Labour councillor since 2015, said: “I’ve taken three-quarters of Mr Stephenson’s majority with just six weeks of campaigning.

“I will be keeping a close eye on what happens over the next few months and years. I am very proud of the campaign we fought.”

After a tense night, the Rossendale and Darwen result finally came in at 4am and saw Conservative candidate Jake Berry take the seat.

Polling 25,499 votes, 50.8 per cent of the vote, he regained the seat he has held for the past seven years.

Mr Berry said: “I am delighted and humbled to be able to represent the party again, it was a tough fight.”

When asked how he though the Conservative party was fairing across the country, he admitted he had not been keeping up with the results, but added: “The Conservative party is the most successful party in Britain and I do not see that changing any time soon.”

The Labour party candidate Alyson Barnes, leader of Rossendale Borough Council, came in a close second with 22,283 votes and a 44.4 per cent share of the vote