Sir Ed Davey hails ‘exceptional’ result as Liberal Democrats secure record number of seats in General Election
5 July 2024, 11:41
Sir Ed Davey has hailed his party's "exceptional" result in the General Election as the Liberal Democrats secured a record-breaking number of seats.
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Sir Ed's party ousted four Cabinet ministers and denied the Tories success in southern constituencies once held by former prime ministers Lord Cameron, Lady May and Boris Johnson.
With 648 results declared, the Liberal Democrats have 71 seats, which surpasses the record of 62 under Charles Kennedy's leadership in 2005.
It represents a huge increase on their tally from 2019, when they secured just 11 seats.
Sir Ed told voters his MPs "will now work hard to keep that trust with a focus on the issues that matter most to them, most of all the NHS and care".
The party leader added: "This is a record-breaking night for the Liberal Democrats. We have swept to victory in seats from Land's End to John O' Groats.
"I am humbled by the trust that millions of people across the country have put in us."
Speaking at Lib Dem headquarters in central London, Sir Ed said his party's first campaign will be "for an emergency budget for health and care".
He added: "Every Liberal Democrat MP will be the voice for carers and we are going to make sure your voice is heard like never before."
Read More: Ed Davey holds Kingston and Surbiton in biggest ever Liberal Democrat majority
Asked by journalists if his party can have any influence over a Labour Government with such a large majority, he said: "Yes, we've got the best ideas, we have the most ambitious programme.
"The Conservatives have left the country in a mess and it will take some time."
He earlier celebrated his party's vote at an election party, dancing and singing to Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline, marking an end to a jam-packed, stunt-laden campaign.
Sir Ed was pictured doing everything from giving interviews in a tea cup to bungee jumping, all while telling voters: "Do something you have never done before...vote Liberal Democrat!"
Which Tories lost out to the Lib Dems?
Among the biggest blows which his party inflicted on the Conservatives was in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, where Max Wilkinson won against Justice Secretary Alex Chalk.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan lost in Chichester, Sussex, to Jess Brown-Fuller, while Science Secretary Michelle Donelan lost to Brian Mathew in Melksham and Devizes.
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer became a casualty to the Liberal Democrat candidate Charlotte Cane.
Henley and Thame, Maidenhead and Witney are also now Liberal Democrat seats.
One seat the Liberal Democrats failed to clinch was Godalming and Ash, where party sources suggested victory over Chancellor Jeremy Hunt would be "quite the moment".
He will remain an MP in the Surrey constituency after its voters elected him with a majority of 891.
Reflecting on the Conservative Party's performance, the Chancellor said: "A message to my children, who I sincerely hope are asleep now.
"This may seem like a tough day for our family as we move out of Downing Street, but it isn't.
"We are incredibly lucky to live in a country where decisions like this are made not by bombs or bullets, but by thousands of ordinary citizens peacefully placing crosses in boxes and bits of paper.
"Brave Ukrainians are dying every day to defend their right to do what we did yesterday and we must never take that for granted.
"Don't be sad, this is the magic of democracy."
Will be proportional representation be on the ballot at the next election?
The Liberal Democrats have taken around 12.3% of the overall vote to secure more than 70 seats.
The SNP, which took 48 seats in 2019 as the UK's third largest party, had secured just eight seats.
Reform UK on 14.3% of the vote has taken just four.
Its leader Nigel Farage - now an MP in the Essex seaside constituency of Clacton - said overnight: "Believe you me, the appetite for electoral reform is going to be enormous after this election, and that's one of the many things that I'm going to be up front, out there, campaigning for.
"I might even work with the Lib Dems on that."
The Lib Dems' deputy leader Daisy Cooper, however, said they would not be willing to work with Reform UK as their "values don't align".
