General election 2010: Dismore defeated in Hendon
Hendon is the latest vulnerable Labour seat to fall to the Conservatives, as David Cameron’s party consolidates its position as the largest party in the hung parliament.
A 4.1% swing was just enough for Tory challenger Matthew Offord to defeat Labour’s Andrew Dismore, who had been the chairman of the last parliament’s joint committee on human rights.
Mr Offord won the seat with a majority of 106 votes. He took 19,635 votes to Mr Dismore’s 19,529.
The seat was 73rd on the Tory target list, making it roughly halfway on the list of seats Mr Cameron needed to win to form a government with an overall majority.
By the time the Hendon result was called at around 09:00 BST that prospect had diminished, but Mr Dismore’s defeat remains significant as the Conservatives limp towards the 300-mark.
The Liberal Democrats, who came third in the seat, saw their share of the vote decrease.
