Former prime minister Liz Truss has lost her seat in South West Norfolk.
Labour candidate Terry Jermy won the constituency with 11,847 votes, compared to 11,217 for Truss. Reform finished in third place with 9,958.
In 2019, the former prime minister won the seat with a huge majority of 26,195.
The result comes on a terrible night for the Conservatives who are on track for their worst result ever.
A record-breaking ten cabinet ministers have lost their seats, including defence secretary Grant Shapps, commons leader Penny Mordaunt and education secretary Gillian Keegan.
Mordaunt, Rees-Mogg and Shapps among notable Conservative losses
In 2022, Liz Truss became the shortest serving prime minister in British history after just 49 days. The record was previously held by George Canning, who lasted 119 days before dying in office back in 1827.
Truss’ defeat comes after helping to launch the Popular Conservatism movement earlier this year.
The faction was due to hold a post-election event on 9 July when MPs are due to select a new speaker and start getting sworn in.
Speaking after her shock defeat, Truss blamed high migration levels for the Conservative Party’s disastrous election result.
She told the BBC: “I think the issue we’ve faced as Conservatives is we haven’t delivered sufficiently on the policies people want. And that means keeping taxes low but also particularly on reducing immigration and I think that’s been a crucial issue here in South West Norfolk, that was the number one issue people raised on the doorstep with me.”
Asked if she had been part of the problem, the former prime minister replied: “I agree I was part of that, that was absolutely true, but during our 14 years in power unfortunately we did not do enough to take on the legacy we’d been left.
“In particular, things like the Human Rights Act that made it very difficult for us to deport illegal immigrants and that is one of the reasons I think we’ve ended up in this situation we are now.”
Pressed on whether she intended to stay in Conservative politics, she said: “I’ve got a lot to think about. It’s been a very, very hectic few weeks. I haven’t slept last night, so give me a bit of time but I will definitely talk to you again when I’ve got the opportunity.”
Politics.co.uk is the UK’s leading digital-only political website. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for all the latest election news and analysis.
