Lib Dems oust three ministers in record-breaking night for Davey

SIR Ed Davey’s Liberal Democrats toppled three Cabinet ministers as they won a record number of more than 70 seats.

- Nicholas Cecil

They pulled off a series of surprise victories including in once true blue Witney in Oxfordshire, previously the Commons seat of former prime minister Lord Cameron.

They fell just short of ousting Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in Godalming and Ash in Surrey. But they beat Education Secretary Gillian Keegan in Chichester, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer in Ely and East Cambridgeshire, and Justice Secretary Alex Chalk in Cheltenham.

Sir Ed said: “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. We 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.”

In south-west London, the Lib Dems gained a “game, set and match” triple victory as they won Wimbledon, Sutton and Cheam, and Carshalton and Wallington, doubling their number of seats in the capital.