Big names in, big names out in British election

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  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.

– Voted out –

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.

– Voted back in –

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 percent 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 so-called “Beast of Bolsover” is parliament’s oldest MP, aged 85. He won another five-year mandate.

– Failed to make it –

GEORGE GALLOWAY — The left-wing, pro-Palestinian firebrand first entered parliament in 1987 but has failed to win a seat since 2015. This time, standing as an independent, he came third with six percent of the vote. Nicknamed “Gorgeous George”, Galloway gained international notoriety in 2005 when he was called to testify over Iraq in the US Senate.

PAUL DADGE — Dubbed a hero after the 2005 London bombings, Dadge aiding a victim was a defining image of the attacks. He stood for Labour in his Conservative-held home seat, coming second.

PAUL NUTTALL — Resigned on Friday as leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party after it failed to win a single seat.

– Stood down from parliament –

GEORGE OSBORNE — The Conservative former finance minister has become the editor of the London Evening Standard newspaper. He has lambasted May for blowing the Conservative majority.

DOUGLAS CARSWELL — UKIP’s only MP quit the party after Britain signed its intention to leave the EU and did not defend his seat, saying Brexit meant his mission was accomplished.

GISELA STUART — German-born Stuart chaired the Vote Leave campaign to success in the Brexit referendum but stood down after 20 years as a Labour MP.

ANDY BURNHAM — Labour’s former health minister stood down to contest the Greater Manchester mayoralty and won with 63 percent of the vote. He played a key role in the aftermath of last month’s terror attack in the city.