Vince Cable has suffered a shocking loss to the Conservatives in his Twickenham seat in a devastating night for the Liberal Democrats. Cable, who has been the secretary of state for business, innovation and skills since 2010, lost by just 17 votes to Conservative candidate Tania Mathias, becoming the most high profile political casualty of the general election so far.
Other major Lib Dem casualties include Simon Hughes, Ed Davey, David Laws and Charles Kennedy. Lib Dem party leader Nick Clegg did manage to hold on to his seat in Sheffield Hallam.
The party is poised to win less than 10 seats, a drop of 47 compared to the 57 they won in 2010. Upon winning his Sheffield Hallam seat, Clegg admitted, This has been a terrible night for our party.
