UK Election A ‘Cruel Night’ For Liberal Democrats

The UK election has been a “cruel night” for the Liberal Democrats. Leader Nick Clegg made the statement after hearing about his party’s major defeat during the early hours of Friday morning. There are still some votes to be counted, but the party is not expected to get any more seats.

Clegg has seen his 57 seat hold in 2010 drop to just eight this year. Many blame the coalition for this, and some say that it could take a generation for the party to recover. The Scottish National Party is now the third largest party in Westminster after taking all but three seats in the whole of the country.

The UK election results have surprised many. Included in the lost Scottish Liberal Democrat seats are Danny Alexander and Charles Kennedy. Vince Cable and David Laws have both lost English seats.

Nick Clegg held his seat in Sheffield Hallam, and spoke about the “cruel night” once the vote counting for the UK election started. He spoke about how the Liberal Democrats were being punished, and this will have “profound implications” for the whole of the United Kingdom, The Independent reports. He has reserved any more comments for later, once he finishes discussing things with his party. He is expected to stand down after such a defeat.

The Conservative Party is expected to take a majority. At the time of writing this, just five seats are required for a majority government, but the party is expected to gain an extra three on top of that. A majority would mean that the coalition with the Liberal Democrats is no longer needed, so Clegg would no longer be the Deputy Prime Minister.

Ed Davey also lost his seat in the UK election, and said that while part of it was the coalition, it was mainly Conservative’s warnings that a Labour government would need the SNP support. He refused to comment about Nick possibly resigning as the party leader.

According to the BBC, Mr. Alexander said that worse things happen, and that losing his seat was a show of democracy. He did admit that he never expected the result to be as bad as it has been.

Paddy Ashdown expressed his pride for the Liberal Democrats putting the nation first in 2010 when the coalition was created. That was necessary at the time, and it has led to the UK electorate voting for a majority again. He did say that the party would be back in a future UK election.

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