‘It’s good to be back’ was the cry from Joan Ryan as she announced herself back on the Enfield North political stage.

Nevertheless, for large swathes of the night, that did not look like the case, with the consensus swinging back and forth between the Labour candidate and her old foe Nick de Bois, who had held the seat for five years.

The venue, the Lee Valley Athletics centre, symbolised this enticing race and proved it was a marathon, not a sprint.

A late swing toward Ms Ryan and even a call for a recount on a bundle was not enough to stop her regaining power.

Now there were pleasantries on the stage, now congratulations or commiserations between the two rivals.

In the end there were tears from members of the Conservative party as de Bois relinquished his reign in Enfield North.

Ultimately, a 1,086 majority for Ryan marked the end of a closely fought fight between the pair since 2001.

Other candidates in the election had varying levels of success.

UKIP, again, made huge strides. With a total of 938 last time, now Deborah Cairns polled 4,000 votes, something de Bois laments as one of the key factors for losing the seat.

Almost 4,300 fewer people voted for the Liberal Democrats on another torrid evening.

Green’s David Flint saw an increase from 489 in 2010 to 1,303 votes, 2.8 per cent of the ballot.

The Trade Union and Socialist Coalition, who stood for the first time in the constituency, received 177 votes.