After a series of recounts, Bill Rammell has held the seat of Harlow for Labour.

The Foreign Office minister had at one stage appeared likely to become the fifth ministerial casualty of election night.

But after three recounts it was announced he had seen off a Conservative challenger by just 97 votes.

That was a major reduction on the 5,228 majority over the Tories the minister secured at the 2001 election.

Rammell told the BBC that Labour needed to "do more to listen and respond and persuade people".

"The team we've got at the top, particularly Tony and Gordon, are very very effective and although this is not as good a result as the one we had hoped for, it is the first time we've ever been elected three times in a row," he said.

"I remember the 1980s, I remember when Labour supporters wondered whether we would ever win again."

The seat was the last on the mainland to declare, with a second recount being called off at 6.00am on Friday as officials said that staff were too tired to count.

However, one more result is still to come.

The contest in Staffordshire South was called off following the death of the Liberal Democrat candidate.

It will now be run as a by-election in a month's time.