THE campaign for York Outer was an "intense parliamentary fight" - says Liberal Democrat candidate Keith Aspden.

The Lib Dems came third in the polls for the constituency - with an increased share of the vote, up 4,082 on the 2017 election.

Cllr Aspden - leader of City of York Council - said: “I think it’s almost been a stitch-up between the Brexit Party and the Conservatives. Ever since Nigel Farage stepped back in those constituencies, it made it really difficult for any other parties to break through.

“The big challenge now is you’ve got a Conservative government with a big majority – they have an awful lot of promises to live up to – particularly to those new constituencies, to the north of England and to Yorkshire.

“I’d like to see the investment they have promised, for example into dualling York’s ring road, into rail between York and Leeds and Manchester, projects like York Central. There’s going to be no excuses now for them not to deliver that investment.

“Following decent results in the local elections and the European elections, from my perspective it’s about moving in the right direction. For us it’s about that long-term trend of our success in the city and to keep building on that. "

Responding to some residents' complaints about the high number of Lib Dem leaflets delivered during the campaign, he said:“York Outer has certainly been an intense parliamentary fight. All three political parties have been working really hard in the area."