Five takeaways from Sussex’s general election results
After weeks of canvassing and debating, the people of East and West Sussex have voted.
Across 17 constituencies, voters have gone to the polls in the general election, which has seen the Labour Party claim a landslide victory.
While it was a good night for Labour which gained four seats, it was an even better night for the Liberal Democrats who gained five – all from the Conservative Party.
So what did we learn? Here are five takeaways from the results, with all the results available in our live page here.
1. Gillian Keegan loses her seat
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan lost her seat in Chichester to the Lib Dems.
She will be replaced by Jess Brown-Fuller, who won with a majority of 12,146.
The Lib Dems called the result early, issuing a statement before 02:00 BST saying “school’s out” for Keegan “for summer, autumn, winter and spring”.
Ms Keegan, who was forced to apologise for her language after being caught swearing on microphone as she expressed irritation over the concrete crisis, had been an MP since 2017.
2. Lib Dems win in Lewes
The Liberal Democrats also won in Lewes, a notional gain from the Conservatives due to boundary changes.
James MacCleary won with 26,895 votes (50.58%), while Maria Caulfield, the former health minister and minister for women, received 14,271 votes (26.84%).
"I'm really excited to have been elected today, we have a fantastic list of things to get to work on,” Mr MacCleary told BBC Radio Sussex.
The Lib Dems have secured the seat for the first time since Norman Baker, who was the MP between 1997 and 2015.
3. Greens hold Brighton Pavilion
Despite the departure of long-standing MP Caroline Lucas, the Green Party has held onto Brighton Pavilion.
Once a traditional Conservative seaside city, Labour won the seat in a by-election in 1995, before Ms Lucas became the first Green MP at Westminster in 2010.
Ms Lucas held the seat for 14 years before stepping down at this election.
Sian Berry, the former leader of the party, won with 28,809 votes (55%). Her closest rival was Labour's Tom Gray, who took 14,519 votes (27.7%).
4. Sir Peter Bottomley loses his seat
The leader of Worthing Borough Council, Labour’s Dr Beccy Cooper, has unseated Conservative Sir Peter Bottomley in Worthing West.
Sir Peter had been the MP since the constituency's creation in 1997 and was the Father of the House of Commons.
Labour won the new seat of Worthing West, a notional gain from the Conservatives due to boundary changes, by 3,949 votes.
5. Not all doom and gloom for Conservatives
Despite heavy losses across East and West Sussex, it was not all doom and gloom for the Conservatives.
The Tories notionally held on to the new constituency of East Grinstead and Uckfield, with Mims Davies taking 19,319 votes (38.3%).
Kieran Mullan was elected as MP for Bexhill and Battle - albeit with a reduced majority, while the Conservatives held onto Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, which was previously held by former minister Nick Gibb from 1997, who stepped down at the election.
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