Lib Dems latest: Ed Davey retains Kingston and Surbiton

Sir Ed Davey vowed to be a “champion” for the community as he held on to his seat during a victory march to claim his party’s “best results in a century”.

At the end of a stunt-packed campaign, the Liberal Democrats leader won Kingston and Surbiton with 25,870 votes, ahead of his Conservative rival Helen Edward on 8,635.

“What I’ve loved most [about the campaign] hasn’t been the paddle-boarding or the bungee jumping,” Sir Ed told supporters in Chessington, in south west London.

“It’s been speaking to people here in Kingston and Surbiton and across the United Kingdom, about the challenges they face and their hopes for the future.

“We’ve listened to you and we’ve heard you loud and clear. We’ve put your concerns at the heart of our campaign.”

The Lib Dems also declared wins in Chichester, the seat held by Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, and in Cheltenham where Justice Secretary Alex Chalk was projected to lose.

Catch up on how the night unfolded for the Lib Dems below and follow the results across the country in our election live blog

04:22 AM BST

Thanks for joining us throughout the night

That’s the end of our live coverage of the Lib Dems results.

The Telegraph’s team of experts will continue to bring you all the news and reactions throughout Friday morning.

Follow the General Election news blog and check the Map for an overview of the results.

03:26 AM BST

In pictures: The moment the results were announced

Back to the London Art Bar now where photographers are capturing the mood.

Here is the moment Lib Dems supporters found out Ed Davey had won:

03:07 AM BST

Watch: Sir Ed’s victory speech

02:58 AM BST

Sir Ed: ‘We want to be your champions’

“Now I don’t know if you could tell, but I’ve rather enjoyed this campaign,” Sir Ed joked as he addressed cheering supporters at the King’s Centre.

“But what I’ve loved most hasn’t been the paddle-boarding or the bungee jumping, it’s been speaking to people here in Kingston and Surbiton and across the United Kingdom, about the challenges they face and their hopes for the future.

“People who are working hard, raising families, caring for loved ones, playing by the rules but finding it harder and harder to make ends meet, people who have had to wait hours for an ambulance, weeks to see a GP, or months for urgent cancer treatment.

“People who are angry at the filthy sewage being pumped into their rivers, lakes and onto their beaches, people who feel let down and taken for granted and are desperate for change.

“Many of them have turned to the Liberal Democrats, in some cases for the first time at this election and we want to be your champions.”

02:52 AM BST

Ed Davey wins

Sir Ed has held his seat with 25,870 (51.06 per cent) of the votes in Kingston and Surbiton.

02:29 AM BST

In pictures: Ed Davey celebrating at King’s Centre vote count

02:20 AM BST

‘Massive result’ in Cheltenham

Expanding now on earlier reports of a prediction that the Justice Secretary has been defeated in Cheltenham, the Lib Dems have wasted no time in claiming the seat.

A Lib Dems source told PA: “This is a massive result for the Liberal Democrats and demonstrates the anger that so many Conservative voters have for this Government.

“The people of Cheltenham have elected a local champion in Max Wilkinson who will stand up in Parliament and work hard to protect local A&E services.”

01:51 AM BST

Video: Ed Davey arrives for the vote count

01:35 AM BST

Education Secretary unseated

The Lib Dems have claimed to have beaten Education Secretary Gillian Keegan in Chichester.

“Chichester is going Lib Dem orange, as Gillian Keegan becomes the first Cabinet Minister of the night to lose her seat,” a party spokesman said.

“The Conservatives have let down the people of Chichester for too long. This seat has been Conservative for 100 years and a win here for the Liberal Democrats is an extraordinary achievement which has unseated the Education Secretary.

“Chichester Harbour has been blighted by sewage pollution thanks to the Conservatives letting water companies off the hook.

“By electing Jess Brown-Fuller, Chichester now has a local champion who will stand up and fight to clean up our waterways and hold water companies accountable.”

01:28 AM BST

In pictures: Supporters celebrate

01:09 AM BST

Party claims victory in Tunbridge Wells

We’re still a long way off the official declaration but the Lib Dems have already claimed victory in Tunbridge Wells.

A Liberal Democrat source said: “They’re set to elect a Lib Dem local champion in former British Army officer Mike Martin, who will stand up for the community.”

01:02 AM BST

‘We’ve won Davey’s dozen’

The party is claiming it will be victorious in three seats in the West Country - Torbay, North Cornwall and Yeovil.

A Lib Dem source told PA: “We are declaring victory in Davey’s dozen, the first 12 of many wins we’re expecting tonight.

“From the West Country to Greater Manchester, the map is being painted gold as Liberal Democrats sweep to victory in the Conservative Party’s former heartlands.”

The party is also confident of wins in Eastleigh, Woking, Guildford, Wokingham and Lewes in the South East, and Wimbledon in south-west London.

The remaining seats on the “Davey’s dozen” list are South Cambridgeshire, Cheadle (Greater Manchester) and Hazel Grove.

12:52 AM BST

Exit poll predicts Justice Secretary Alex Chalk will lose his seat

It is likely the Lib Dems will gain Cheltenham, Ipsos UK says.

Mr Chalk is defending a small majority of just 1,421.

He has been up against Max Wilkinson, who is the Lib Dem candidate, Labour’s Lara Chaplin, the Green candidate Daniel Wilson, and independent Daud McDonald.

12:46 AM BST

Lib Dems ‘confident’ against Jeremy Hunt

A source has told PA that Lib Dems feel “confident” the party will defeat Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, in the new constituency of Godalming and Ash.

The constituency Mr Hunt is contesting is 81 per cent likely to go to the Lib Dems according to the exit poll for Sky News, BBC and ITV News.

“The exit poll is obviously encouraging,” the source said.

“It’s early in the night. But we are confident.”

12:32 AM BST

In pictures: Counting ballots in Chessington

Spare a thought for all the volunteers who are burning the midnight oil to do their bit for democracy across 650 constituencies tonight.

12:20 AM BST

In pictures: Memorable moments from Ed Davey’s campaign

12:15 AM BST

Did stunts help?

Daisy Cooper told the BBC tonight that all the funny stunts pulled by the Lib Dems throughout the campaign carried a “very serious message”.

You might have noticed that Ed Davey seemed to be the only one genuinely having any fun in the past few weeks.

He paddled - and fell - into icy waters of the Windermere, cycled in Wales, and hurtled down a waterslide in Somerset.

Sir Ed also shook his hips at a zumba class in Wokingham and jumped off crane in Eastbourne.

It was all in the name of getting attention for Lib Dems and their causes, apparently, but whether it has actually made a difference remains to be seen.

While we wait for the verdict, read up on what happens when gimmicks go wrong and when they triumph.

11:47 PM BST

Translating the results

11:42 PM BST

‘Disbelief’ in Oxfordshire

Some reaction now from Layla Moran, the Oxford West and Abingdon MP who in 2020 threw her hat in the ring for the party’s leadership in a contest against Ed Davey.

Oxfordshire results are yet to be announced but forecasts show a 1 per cent Lib Dem gain in the south.

11:28 PM BST

Deputy leader: Ed Davey ‘lit up the campaign’

Daisy Cooper paid tribute to the party leader as she celebrated the “once-in-a-century” result.

“I think [the result] is testament to the phenomenal leadership of Ed Davey who has lit up this campaign, and our positive vision and our plans for how we want to save the NHS and fix social care,” Ms Cooper told the BBC.

She added: “Our goal was to unseat as many Conservative MPs as possible. Up until this evening, we said we were in second place to the Conservatives in around 80 seats across the country, and later this evening we’ll find out how many of those MPs we’ve been able to unseat.”

11:11 PM BST

Party president: ‘We fought a positive campaign’

Mark Pack, the President of the Liberal Democrats, has posted his thoughts on his personal blog.

“Things I didn’t expect to hear during a general election campaign included Jason Donovan calling Ed Davey ‘sexy’ live on TV,” Mr Pack wrote.

“As YouGov’s polling found, ‘Looking at favourability figures, the results show that Davey is the only party leader to have experienced a significant improvement in ratings since the beginning of the campaign.’

“Their polling also shows that people are most likely to think we fought a positive campaign and that Ed and our campaign comes out ahead of all the others for people saying that they have a favourable view of it.

“But while it was Ed’s campaign tour – and his moving telling of his personal story of a carer – that got the headlines, behind that was a massive movement, focused on our target seats, that reached voters in unprecedented numbers.”

11:05 PM BST

In pictures: Best moments from Ed Davey’s campaign

10:25 PM BST

Sir Ed: Lib Dems on track for ‘best results in a century’

Sir Ed Davey said his party was on track to record the “best results in a century” as the exit poll suggested the Lib Dems could gain 61 seats.

As polls closed, Sir Ed said: “The Liberal Democrats are on course for our best results in a century, thanks to our positive campaign with health and care at its heart.

“I am humbled by the millions of people who backed the Liberal Democrats to both kick the Conservatives out of power and deliver the change our country needs.

“Every Liberal Democrat MP will be a strong local champion for their community standing up for the NHS and care. Whether you voted for us or not, we will work day in and day out and we will not let you down.”

10:07 PM BST

Breaking: Exit poll released

The exit poll indicates the Lib Dems have won 61 seats, which would be a very strong performance for Sir Ed Davey’s party.

It puts the party in third position, behind the Tories at 131.

09:55 PM BST

Seats at a glance: Lib Dems

These are the 41 Conservative-held seats that Sir Ed Davey will have visited by the end of the election campaign, together with the notional Tory majority in 2019.

The seats are ranked in order of vulnerability, based on the size of the swing needed for the Lib Dems to gain, starting with the smallest:

09:39 PM BST

Watch: Sir Ed Davey casts his vote

The Lib Dem leader and his wife, Emily, visited a polling station in Surbiton earlier today to cast their vote.

“It’s a beautiful day. I hope lots of people come out to vote,” Sir Ed said as he left Surbiton Hill Methodist Church.

09:36 PM BST

Welcome

We will be bringing you the latest news on the Lib Dems’ election results.

Sir Ed Davey’s party is set to snatch dozens of seats, according to major surveys.