Which big names have been voted out by their local constituents? We run through the top six

Nick Clegg

Nick Clegg, former Lib Dem Deputy Prime Minister, lost his Sheffield Hallam seat to the Labour party. Reports in 2015 suggested that local Conservatives had deliberately avoided campaigning against Clegg, and his loss is unexpected. Vote counts suggest that strong youth turnout from the local university and a decline in support for Clegg are the reasons for his loss.

Angus Robertson

Angus Robertson, SNP Westminster leader, lost his Moray seat to Douglas Ross of the Scottish Conservatives. In a good night for the Tories north of the border, Ross overturned a majority of nine thousand to win my more than four thousand votes. Robertson has been widely hailed as one of the best performers in the house of commons, and a constant thorn in the prime minister’s side during Prime Ministers Questions.

Alex Salmond

Alex Salmond, former First Minister of Scotland and leader of the SNP for over twenty years, lost his Gordon seat to Colin Clark of the Scottish Conservatives. Clark overturned a deficit of nearly twenty thousand votes in Gorton, overtaking the Lib Dems who had previously come second.

Jane Ellison

Jane Ellison, former Conservative Secretary to the Treasury, lost her Battersea seat in London to the Labour party, who overturned a majority of eight thousand to win by three thousand votes. Ellison was a key member of Philip Hammond’s team in the Treasury and had gained respect among financial services companies.

Ben Gummer

Ben Gummer, former Conservative Cabinet Secretary, lost his Ipswich seat to Labour’s Sandy Martin by a small margin of 831 votes. Gummer had been tipped to step up to Brexit Secretary in a potential post-election cabinet reshuffle.

Gavin Barwell

Gavin Barwell, former Conservative Housing Minister, lost his Croydon Central seat to the Labour party. Croydon Central is a highly marginal constituency, and Barwell had been defending a majority of just 165. Having written a book titled ‘How to win a marginal seat’, Barwell’s loss by over 5000 votes was greeted with a degree of mirth amongst political commentators.

Authored by Matt Parish