Khaleej Times

Big names in, old names out

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London — As the British general election results rolled in on Friday, here are some of the big names who were voted out of parliament and others who will be returning. Nick Clegg — The former deputy prime minister and ex-Liberal Democrat leader lost his seat to Labour. “You live by the sword and you die by the sword,” he said. Alex Salmond — The former Scottish first minister and Scottish National Party leader lost his seat as the Conservati­ves made dramatic gains north of the border. “You’ve not seen the last of my bonnet and me,” he said, quoting an old song. Angus Robertson — The SNP’s leader in the British parliament also fell to the Conservati­ve surge in Scotland. “There’s a lot of change going on,” he said. Simon Danczuk — A fierce opponent of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour leadership, he was suspended by the party for sending sexually explicit texts to a 17-year-old girl. The tabloid favourite was barred from standing for Labour and quit the party in disgust, but defended his seat as an independen­t. He got 1.8 percent of the vote. Ben Gummer — He wrote the Conservati­ve manifesto and was thought to be a rising star in the party, but lost his seat by less than 1,000 votes. Zac Goldsmith — The former London mayoral candidate quit as an MP when the Conservati­ves backed expanding Heathrow Airport. As an independen­t, he lost a by-election to the Liberal Democrats. Back in the Conservati­ve fold, he won by just 45 votes on Thursday. Vince Cable — A former business secretary and Liberal Democrat deputy leader, he lost his seat in the Lib Dem bloodbath of 2015 but returned with 53 per cent of the vote. Ken Clarke — The 1990s finance minister is the “father of the house” — the longest continuall­y-serving MP, having entered the Commons in 1970. The Conservati­ve grandee is a rare pro-EU figure in his party. Dennis Skinner — The left-wing firebrand and socalled “Beast of Bolsover” is parliament’s oldest MP, aged 85. He won another five-year mandate.

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