Ed Davey is ‘delighted’ to have been elected as the MP for Kingston and Surbiton again, and is looking ahead at the big issues he wants to tackle.

He received 44.7 per cent of the vote, beating the incumbent James Berry (38.1 per cent), who unseated him in 2015.

Before then, Mr Davey had held the seat since 1997, and was Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change in the coalition government.

He said: “I’m delighted to be elected and very humbled. I’m very keen to get on.”

Mr Davey also outlined what he was going to prioritise now he has regained his seat.

He said: “Locally it’s got to be schools, the NHS and the police. School budgets are a real problem. I’ve been speaking to people involved in schools already and I’m hoping I will be able to alleviate or at least mitigate the cuts.

“I will also speak to people in the NHS about issues within it, particularly A&E – I know there are real resourcing problems there – and GP waiting times. There are a number of mental health services I was looking to improve last time, too, that I will now be looking at again.

“I was quite shocked to look at the policing figures. We have lost 27 full-time officers and eight special constables. I want to be lobbying here, in Westminster and also with the Mayor.”

In the two years since he was last an MP, Mr Davey set up a consultancy working in energy and climate change

He said: “I’ve missed being able to help people. You can do a lot to help when not in parliament, but it’s the headed notepaper with ‘MP’ written on it that I always called my sword to go into battle to help local people with.

“When you go somewhere with the headed notepaper you can really get things done.”

His first advice surgery was held on Tuesday, June 13.

He plans to hold two a week, and has already booked the sessions until the end of July.

Full details of these will be available on the Surrey Comet website tomorrow.