James Cartlidge joined fellow Suffolk Conservative MPs in offering his sympathy to Ben Gummer who lost his Ipswich seat.

Mr Cartlidge marginally increased his South Suffolk majority. He gained 32,829 votes, with his closest rival Emma Bishton behind on 15,080 for Labour. It means Mr Cartlidge’s majority rose slightly from 17,545 in 2015, when he was first elected, to 17,749.

He said: “I’m disappointed by what seems to be happening (heading to a hung parliament). We have had some very good results in Scotland and obviously disappointing ones, particularly in Ipswich. I’m very disappointed for Ben, who has been a fantastic minister as well and Member of Parliament and has represented Ipswich to the very highest standard.”

Asked if he had sympathy for Mr Gummer, he said: “Absolutely. He is a fantastic MP. Even though he has lost very narrowly, I think he has had support from across the parties because of the hard work he has done for Ipswich.”

• Reaction to Ben Gummer losing his Ipswich seat.

Mr Cartlidge added: “I feel extremely proud to have been re-selected as the MP for South Suffolk. I will continue to work hard for my constituents and I will continue to fight for South Suffolk.”

Asked what his number one priority will be, he said: “Housing is becoming an issue, particularly with the loss of the five-year land supply, communities are worried about what’s going to happen. I will sit down with Babergh (District Council) and see what we can do nationally, particularly with policy on Neighbourhood Plans.

“The other thing is policing. We do now need to reassure the public more, especially with these incidents in London and Manchester. Something I had been looking at is seeing if parishes can be more police cover from PCSOs (police community support officers), possibly by contributing through the parish.”

The result was declared shortly before 3.45am at Wherstead Park near Ipswich.

Reflecting on local issues with which he was confronted on the doorstep, he said earlier in the night,: “The big shift in the last two or three days was undoubtedly about terror and security, and these terrible attacks in London and Manchester which have caused people to feel a great deal of fear about the future.

“I have been reassuring the people that the government will be doing everything it can to combat terrorism, and in the meantime we have got to find out why these guys got through.”

Full Result:

James Cartlidge (C) 32,829

Emma Bishton (L) 15,080

Andrew Aalders-Dunthorne (LD) 3,154

Robert Lindsay (G) 1,723

Aidan Powlesland (UKIP) 1,449.

Maj: 17,749. Turnout: 72.04%. No change.

• See the results from elsewhere in Suffolk and north Essex on our interactive map.