Sir Robert Buckland has become the first Conservative MP to lose their seat at the general election as Labour gained the constituency of Swindon South.
Buckland, a former justice secretary, was a high-profile moderate member of the Conservative parliamentary party.
Heidi Alexander, who beat Buckland, said in her victory speech that people had “voted for change” and a Labour government would “change our country for the better”.
She said that “change is coming” and Labour will “press the reset button”.
Alexander previously represented the seat of Lewisham East, which she resigned in 2018 to become deputy mayor of London for transport under Sadiq Khan.
Speaking after his defeat was announced, Buckland told the election count in Swindon South he believed the UK’s “very political system is at a crossroads”.
He added: “Do we value those who work to bring people together and who come into politics to do something rather than be someone, or do we shrug our shoulders and accept that politics is a mere circus, where people compete for attention by saying things that they either know to be untrue or which raise hopes and expectations in a way that further erodes trust?
“I know what side I’m on, I know what choice I would make. I believe with sincere and fierce conviction that my party has to make the right choice too if we are to inspire a new generation with a real promise of a better future.”
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