BRENDAN O’HARA has promised to continue his opposition to any form of Brexit that damages Argyll and Bute’s economy after securing a third term as the area’s Westminster MP.

Mr O’Hara was returned to office with an increased majority in last Thursday’s general election.

He polled 21,040 votes, giving him a majority of 4,110 over the Conservatives’ Gary Mulvaney – more than three times bigger than his margin of victory at the last general election in 2017.

Mr Mulvaney polled 16,930 votes – almost a thousand more than he received when he contested the seat two years ago – but it wasn’t enough to loosen the SNP’s grip on the seat.

READ MORE: O'Hara wins third term as MP for Argyll and Bute

Alan Reid, who served as the area’s MP for 14 years from 2001 to 2015, came a distant third for the Liberal Democrats, with Labour’s Rhea Barnes in fourth.

Mr O’Hara – one of 48 SNP MPs returned to Westminster following Thursday’s poll – said: “It is a huge honour for me to have been elected for the third time to represent the people of Argyll and Bute and I would like to thank the voters of this constituency for once again giving me their trust.

“As your MP I will continue to oppose any form of Brexit that will damage the economy of this constituency and I will do everything I can to protect the people of Argyll and Bute from the ravages of an emboldened right-wing Tory government in Westminster, led by Boris Johnson.

“What Thursday showed was that this United Kingdom has never been more disunited, and that the nations of these islands see very different political futures.

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“The SNP’s core message in this election was that people of Scotland must be able to determine our own future in a referendum, and the remarkable success of the SNP, shows that the people agree.

“In a seat where they had such high hopes, the flat rejection of the Tories and their single-issue campaign to stop another independence referendum must be a painful blow to them.

“But they must now accept that the people of Scotland do want a second independence referendum, and that the Scottish Government have a clear democratic mandate to hold such a referendum.”

The result was declared at the Mid Argyll Sports Centre in Lochgilphead just before 5.45am on Friday.

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Full Argyll and Bute result, with vote share and percentage change from 2017 in brackets:

Brendan O’Hara (SNP) 21,040 (43.7%, +7.8%); Gary Mulvaney (Conservative) 16,930 (35.1%, +2.0%); Alan Reid (Liberal Democrat) 6,832 (14.2%, -4.0%); Rhea Barnes (Labour) 3,248 (6.7%, -5.8%).

Turnout in Argyll and Bute was 72.4 per cent, and the total number of votes cast was 48,192.

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