These are the high profile MPs who lost their seats in the General Election 2017

We didn't see that coming...

We didn't see that coming...

Yesterday marked the General Election 2017, a snap election called by Prime Minister Theresa May on 18th April.

Announcing her decision outside 10 Downing Street, she insisted that it would bring greater stability to a country divided over Brexit, insisting, 'If we do not hold a General Election now, political game-playing will continue.'

This is now, on results day, being referred to as one of the biggest electoral mistakes in history, with UK citizens turning up in their thousands yesterday and casting their vote against her, making their thoughts on a 'hard Brexit' known.

With a lot of people choosing to vote tactically to get maximum impact, it wasn't just the Conservatives who lost some big seats, but the SNP and Liberal Democrats too, with well-known MPs across the UK losing their seats, some of them considered to be relatively safe.

Here are the MPs you might have heard of that unexpectedly lost their seats...

Nick Clegg lost his seat

Liberal Democrat, Sheffield Hallam

Nick Clegg is arguably one of the most high profile figures to lose his seat in the General Election. As former leader of the Liberal Democrats and former deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg's loss in the constituency of Sheffield Hallam was a shock result, seeing Labour come out triumphant. Having once held a 15,000 majority, he lost out to Labour's Jared O Mara by more than 2000 votes.

Alex Salmond lost his seat

SNP, Gordon

Alex Salmond isn't far behind Nick Clegg in terms of the most shocking results. As the former leader of the SNP and once the winner with a majority of 8,600, it should have been a clear landslide victory, but Salmon surprisingly lost out to Conservative candidate, Colin Clark.

Gavin Barwell lost his seat

Conservative, Croydon Central

Gavin Barwell, former housing minister for the Conservative government and MP for Croydon Central for 10 years, has lost his seat, with Labour's Sarah Jones winning with a 5,652 majority.

'Thanks for putting a smile on my face on what looks like being a bad night', he tweeted out to his followers as the results came in.

Ben Gummer lost his seat

Conservative, Ipswich

Ben Gummer was one of the minds behind Theresa May's manifesto, and due to receive a Cabinet position in her government.

Despite retaining his seat for seven years and previously holding a majority of 3,000, Ben Gummer lost to Labour's Sandy Martin, who came in unexpectedly with a slim majority of 831 votes.

Accepting that he had lost the seat, Ben Gummer announced, 'At least there will be some time to relax now', before adding, 'These things happen in politics,'

Angus Robertson lost his seat

SNP, Moray

Angus Robertson losing his seat was a very surprising outcome, with Robertson being the leader of the SNP's Westminster grouping. Despite boasting a 9,000 majority back in 2015, he lost out yesterday, losing his seat in Moray to Conservative Douglas Ross, who now has a 4,000 majority.

Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.