Numerous eminent Conservative and Labour representatives were ousted from their constituencies, marking a historic defeat for the former as acknowledged by Rishi Sunak, while Labour’s Keir Starmer celebrated a landmark triumph.
Representing the Tories was Liz Truss, previously occupying the South West Norfolk seat, who was defeated by Labour. Truss had a fairly notable political tenure, taking on the role of UK prime minister for 49 days in 2022, and serving as foreign and trade secretaries before that. Despite her noteworthy political journey since being elected in 2010, the ‘mini’ budget crisis under her leadership leading to turmoil in the financial markets and pension sector, resulted in her resignation. This election loss makes her the first ex-prime minister to lose a seat since nearly a century.
Labour also claimed the seat from Penny Mordaunt of Portsmouth North, a former Royal Navy reservist. She raised her public image by playing a significant role in King Charles’s coronation. Projected as a future party leader, Mordaunt’s moderate stand in the 2022 Tory leadership contest also gained her some recognition. However, she was beaten by Labour by a close margin of approximately 780 votes.
In Cheltenham, Alex Chalk, a respected legal advocate and an ousted justice secretary, was bested by the Liberal Democrats. Despite the challenges of managing a government department with severe budget cuts, Chalk contributed significantly to the legislation that vindicated sub-postmasters entrapped in the Horizon scandal.
Gillian Keegan, the education secretary representing Chichester, likewise lost to the Liberal Democrats in a tight three-way contest. Her tenure saw her close over a hundred schools due to the use of hazardous material in their structure. Despite the difficulties faced, her frustrations about a lack of recognition were candidly caught on microphone.
In Welwyn Hatfield, Labour overcame Grant Shapps, a seasoned cabinet minister celebrated as a ‘safe pair of hands’ by Sunak. Known for his strong media presence and playing the ‘attack dog’ for the Tory government, Shapps was found to be running a business as an MP using the alias ‘Michael Green’, which shot him to prominence in 2012.
North East Somerset and Hanham saw Jacob Rees-Mogg making an exit to Labour as well.
Rees-Mogg, a staunch Brexiteer, first entered politics in 2010 and had been a key part of the Truss and Boris Johnson administrations, assuming roles such as business secretary and Brexit opportunities minister. As a social conservative, he was an advocate for his party to form a coalition with Reform UK in the current year’s general election.
Liam Fox, once a cabinet member, had a downfall under the prime ministerial reign of Boris Johnson as he was consigned to backbenches for the entirety of the last parliament. Fox was embroiled in the expenses scandal of 2009 and stepped down as defence secretary, following the controversy of allowing a close associate and lobbyist access to classified meetings.
Mark Harper, who held the Forest of Dean seat until he lost to Labour, was a trusted associate of Sunak during government tenure. The former transport secretary was one of the few MPs to keep away from the expenses scandal. He quit his role as immigration minister in 2014 upon unearthing that his cleaner was illegally present in the UK. This incident set the stage for his re-entry into the government in less than six months.
Jonathan Ashworth from the Labour Party, previously representing Leicester South, lost to an Independent. Having held the position of shadow paymaster-general on Starmer’s opposition front bench, Ashwoth was first elected to parliament in 2011. He performed the role of shadow health secretary during the pandemic and was perceived as an excellent media communicator. However, he was ousted in his constituency by a pro-Palestinian independent candidate.
Thangam Debbonaire, losing her Bristol Central seat to the Greens, was the shadow culture secretary. Since 2015, she had been the representative of the now-redrawn Bristol West seat after ousting the Liberal Democrats. After losing to Carla Denyer, Green Party’s co-leader, Debbonaire, having previously performed roles like shadow housing secretary and shadow Commons leader, and a former professional cellist, received support from significant figures in the arts industry.
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