Sir Ed Davey has hailed the Liberal Democrats’ “exceptional” results in the general election.
When polls closed on Thursday night, the exit poll by Ipsos UK for Sky News, the BBC and ITV News suggested the Lib Dems would win 61 seats – up from 11 – more than five times the number they secured at the last election in 2019.
Since then, the Lib Dems have secured a number of gains from the Tories – including in Wells & Mendip Hills, Dorking & Horley, Wimbledon, Yeovil, Hampshire North East and Norfolk North.
Follow live general election updates
The fastest results, the sharpest analysis and an award-winning line up – as the general election unfolds, Sky News will bring you the full story, first.
The Lib Dems also unseated multiple prominent Tory cabinet ministers.
Alex Chalk, the justice secretary, lost to Max Wilkinson in Cheltenham.
The party also took Chichester – with Jess Brown-Fuller beating Education Secretary Gillian Keegan with a majority of 12,172 votes.
While Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer lost her seat in Ely & East Cambridgeshire and Michelle Donelan lost to Liberal Democrat Brian Matthew taking her place in Melksham and Devizes with a 2,406 majority.
The Lib Dems had set out to target the so-called ‘Blue Wall’ of Conservative seats in the southwest and southeast of England, and its strategy appears to have paid off.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed was re-elected in his Kingston & Surbiton seat with 25,870 votes, ahead of his Conservative rival Helen Edward on 8,635.
Speaking at The King’s Centre in Chessington, in southwest London, Sir Ed said the party had put voters’ concerns “at the heart of our campaign”, adding that he had “rather enjoyed” the six-week run-up to the election.
Throughout the campaign, he has conducted a series of stunts such as paddle boarding, bungee jumping and conducting an interview on a fairground teacup ride.
“I think it’s possible to have a serious debate as well as having a bit of fun. I don’t take myself as a politician seriously. I want to take the concerns of the British people seriously,” Sir Ed said after his re-election.
Read more:
What is the forecast election result in your constituency?
Sunak concedes defeat
“I hope that the style we’ve gone about it has encouraged people to join the Liberal Democrats.
“It’s certainly encouraged them to vote for us. This is an exceptional result, a historic result for the Liberal Democrats.”
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
He added that Lib Dem policies on issues like health and the cost of living crisis have “been heard louder and clearer because of the way we presented ourselves in this positive light”.
Sir Ed has represented Kingston & Surbiton since 1997, apart from in 2015 when he lost to Conservative James Berry in a backlash against the coalition government.
