BASINGSTOKE has always been seen as a ‘safe seat’ for the Conservative party, but an opinion poll carried out by The Gazette this week shows the Labour party’s candidate Paul Harvey as the favourite to win the constituency.

Like all polls, it is just a snapshot rather than a prediction of what will happen as the electorate cast their votes today, and is based on the views of our online readers, rather than the entire constituency.

But could Conservative candidate Maria Miller, who has been the town’s MP since 2005, be in for a real battle this evening?

We ran the ballot on our website for less than 48 hours, and more than 1,000 of you voted.

It closed yesterday morning, just 24 hours before the polls opened for the 2015 General Election.

Dr Harvey was the clear favourite from the outset, eventually gaining 44 per cent (456 votes), ahead of the incumbent Mrs Miller, who received 34 per cent (346 votes).

Dragging behind were UKIP’s Alan Stone with 15 per cent (150 votes) and Liberal Democrats candidate Janice Spalding with six per cent (58 votes).

Independent hopeful and Basingstoke father Omar Selim got two per cent (18 votes).

The Conservatives have held the Basingstoke seat almost every year since 1885, with the exception of 1923 to 1924 when the town had an MP from the Liberal Party MP.

At the last General Election in 2010, Mrs Miller received a majority of 13,176.

But with our poll showing Labour as the frontrunners, it could be a nervous wait for all candidates in the Basingstoke constituency this evening.

*We will publish the results for Basingstoke on our website as soon as they are announced.