A former Progressive Labour Party MP who defected to the One Bermuda Alliance last year has retained his seat in Smith’s West (Constituency 9).

Vance Campbell, who crossed the floor to the OBA last August, won 400 votes to Shomari Talbot-Woolridge's 303 for the PLP and independent Dwight Jackson's 82.

A total of 785, or about 60 per cent of 1,293 registered voters, voted in Smith’s West.

Mr Campbell was in high spirits following the announcement, saying he is ready to “get to work”.

He said: “I'm quite pleased. We worked hard. We had strong opponents so we were a bit nervous, we didn't sleep well last night.

“I'd like to thank the voters of C9 for coming out to vote today.”

Mr Campbell said he could not predict the reaction to his decision to cross the floor, saying it could have received some negative reaction.

“It wasn't a good time to have the election. We got out there and pushed as hard as we could,” he said.

Last August, Mr Campbell said that he would focus on constituency matters as well as major issues including the island’s infrastructure, education, healthcare and addressing the state of the economy “in a real way, not with small token items”.

On election day, he said: “Infrastructure … there are many things wrong with Bermuda. We have to look at our finances and prioritise what we need to do.”

Mr Talbot-Woolridge said: “I think this is the best time to announce our campaign for the next election.

“We are disappointed with the result, but we are going to have a post-mortem to see what went wrong.”

Mr Jackson said it was a “bittersweet” result, but he added: “I'm encouraged that I was able to make a dent.

“I'm very happy for Mr Campbell. It goes to show he has put in a considerable amount of work and regardless of which side of the aisle he falls on, people appreciate the effort he has put in.”