The independent candidate for Esher and Walton's call for an investigation into the count will fall flat, due to financial constraints.

Della Reynolds, the Citizen Candidate, wrote to returning officer Robert Moran following the count, at which Dominic Raab was re-elected as MP. She said her her 228 votes counted at Sandown Park, Esher, on Thursday, May 7, were "suspiciously low".

She and her agent, Greg Knowles, met Mr Moran on Friday, May 15, after her request for an investigation. She said: "He explained the rigorous checks used to ensure the integrity of the process and that it would not be possible to reopen the count without a petition to court, which is beyond the financial means of our campaign funds."

The aim of her campaign was not primarily concerned with securing votes in any event, but to raise awareness and open up debate.

She said: "I am convinced that far more than 228 people are aware of the need to improve social justice within our community and ensure that all sectors benefit from any economic recovery."

An Elmbridge spokesman responded to the call for an investigation: "The process is highly regulated and there are audit trails for all parts of the process.

"The acting returning officer knows precisely how many ballot papers were issued at each polling station and as postal votes and can account for all that were cast or returned by post.

"There were no unusual patterns or discrepancies and the returning officer can say with certainty that 57,165 votes were cast and 228 of those were for independent parliamentary candidate Della Reynolds."

Ms Reynolds thanked to Mr Moran for his time and said it was regrettable the debates in the run up to the election were overshadowed by suggestions she had likened the Conservative cuts to the Nazi regime, but confirmed she was not deterred from speaking out.