Liz Truss Caps List of High-Profile Conservative Seat Losses
Liz Truss, the former Conservative Party prime minister, lost her seat Friday morning. Following a chaotic 49-day premiership in 2022, which sent mortgage rates soaring, the pound tumbling and required an intervention by the central bank to calm markets, she has been ousted from Parliament.
Five years ago, she won a majority of more than 26,000. This time, she lost by 630 votes, a huge swing in support to the Labour Party.
She told the BBC that the reason the Conservatives lost was because “we haven’t delivered sufficiently on the policies people want,” such as keeping taxes low and reducing immigration. She said she agreed that she was part of the group in power that had failed to deliver these changes but laid the blame on the inheritance the party received in 2010, not herself.
“During our 14 years in power, unfortunately, we did not do enough to take on the legacy we’d been left,” she said.
But Ms. Truss is just one of many prominent Conservative lawmakers to lose their seats, including recent members of the cabinet. Others include:
-
Grant Shapps, the defense secretary, who over the Conservatives’ 14 years in power has also served as energy secretary, business secretary, home secretary and transport secretary.
-
Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the House of Commons, who has unsuccessfully run to lead the party.
-
Jacob Rees-Mogg, a prominent backer of Boris Johnson who served as business secretary under Ms. Truss.
-
Robert Buckland, a former justice secretary, who described the election results as “electoral Armageddon” for the Conservatives.
-
Gillian Keegan, the education secretary.
-
Lucy Frazer, the culture secretary.
-
Michelle Donelan, who held cabinet positions under Mr. Johnson, Ms. Truss and Rishi Sunak, most recently as a minister for science, innovation and technology.
The traditional strongholds the Conservative Party lost also included the seats once held by three other former prime ministers, Mr. Johnson, David Cameron and Theresa May.
