A former Conservative MP has said his party must "reflect" on disunity after his election defeat in North West Cambridgeshire this morning. 

Shailesh Vara lost his seat by 39 votes to one of the youngest Labour candidates standing in the General Election, 22-year-old Sam Carling. 

Mr Vara had held the seat for nearly 20 years following his election in 2005. 

Labour has gained both Peterborough and North West Cambridgeshire in a dramatic night for the city.

Speaking to The Hunts Post, Mr Vara said he had spoken with a "a lot" of Conservative voters who were "upset" with the party.

"They wanted to make their protests heard. I've been campaigning for the past six weeks and I meet many people who were lifelong Conservatives who expressed unhappiness. 

"Some I was able to win back, but certainly not all of them, and they have made their feelings felt."

He added: "The Conservative Party needs to reflect very carefully about whether it wishes to continue fighting amongst itself. 

"If it doesn't, the backbenches in the Commons beckon for a very long time. Or, the party can unite and fight the party opposite in which case power for the Conservatives will come much sooner.

"I think many people wanted change. They weren't happy at all about the disunity in the Conservative Party. 

"Many people recognise that it's been extraordinarily difficult over the past give years. We've had a pandemic, the war in Ukraine which have posed additional challenges. 

"I think a lot of people recognised that and some people were prepared to step back and conceded that international events have caused a lot of the issues we now face. 

"But other people were just tired of us and I think they've looked at the past five years and said 'you guys have been in charge and I want you out'."

Mr Vara, who has contested eight general elections, said the mood had shifted in this particular poll, with voters seemingly wanting to "punish politicians". 

He also claimed that the rise of social media had contributed to the national result, in particular, the rise of Nigel Farage's Reform party. 

He said: "There is a lot of good in having social media, but it needs to be sensibly used. The abuse, blatant lies and misinformation that is put out there needs to be addressed. 

"I don't think that enough has been done to make sure that this valuable and relatively new form of communication is being checked."

Mr Vara declined to comment on whether he felt Rishi Sunak should resign following the party's worst electoral defeat since 1832.