Labour’s David Crausby said the feeling on the doorstep in Bolton North East has led him to think he’s going to retain his seat.
Mr Crausby, who has represented the constituency since 1997, said he usually goes into election counts expecting to lose.
He said: “I’ve been out since first thing this morning so it’s going to be a long day and night. I don’t think you ever know how it’s gone until the count.
“We have some very good records. We are losing some to UKIP but the truth is that this town is a straight race between Labour and the Tories.”
Turning to the national picture, Mr Crausby said he wasn’t sure how the vote would go but did expect the Labour party to lose seats in Scotland.
A BBC exit poll handed the Tories a majority with 316 seats compared to Labour’s 239 with the SNP taking a massive 58 seats north of the border.
But Mr Crausby remained bullish said: “I think we’ll make some gains in England but we don’t know if that will be enough.
“The exit poll doesn’t feel right to us but the Com-Res poll does feel more real.
“I didn’t expect the last Government to last five years because I didn’t think the Lib Dems could betray us for so long.
“In terms of coalitions I don’t think you can really make any decision until all the figures come in.”
