I was proud to serve, says defiant Hughes as he loses seat after 32 years

VETERAN Simon Hughes was kicked out of his seat after 32 years, but vowed that his legacy would not be undone.

After a firecely contested battle, Labour’s Neil Coyle won with a majority of more than 4,000. His victory was met with cheers and chants of “Neil, Neil” from supporters, who had looked downcast earlier in the evening as national results rolled in.

Mr Hughes was given a hero’s welcome by activists when he arrived at the count at Southwark town hall after 3am, and remained defiant, declaring: “Liberalism is not embarrassed, Liberalism is not ashamed, Liberalism is proud of the way in which we have served this community.”

Bermondsey & Old Southwark had been held by Mr Hughes since 1983. The former justice minister said he could not have expected to have served for so long when he was first elected, in a bitter by-election fight with the Labour candidate, gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. The Lib-Dems had changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people for the better, he added: “We have helped them when they are in need, we made sure we came to their rescue when they have been badly served by the council or City Hall.

“Making sure that individuals and families and community groups know there is somebody on their side who will fight for them to the ends of the earth ... I think that’s a legacy that cannot be undone.” Speaking about his 32 years as MP, he told Mr Coyle: “You have got a job to be able to beat that record.”

In his acceptance speech, the new Labour MP — a former policy director of the Disability Alliance — said: “I would like to do something slightly unusual and like you to acknowledge the three decades of contribution that Simon Hughes has made to the community. Today’s verdict was not the verdict on 32 years of Simon Hughes, it was the verdict on five years of Cameron and Clegg’s coalition.”

He said the area had suffered under the Coalition, with people in employment using food banks and homelessness rising. Turnout was 62 per cent — higher than the 57 cent seen in 2010.