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Ed Balls loses seat: Labour woes compounded as Shadow Chancellor beaten by Conservatives

Shadow Chancellor becomes the latest in a series of major Labour casualties

Heather Saul,Matt Dathan
Friday 08 May 2015 09:11 BST
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The Shadow Chancellor is waiting with bated breath to find out his fate
The Shadow Chancellor is waiting with bated breath to find out his fate

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Ed Balls has lost his seat in what is the biggest shock of an extraordinary night of election results.

It compounds Labour's woes in a dismal night for Labour, which lost all but one of its Scottish MPs and will undoubtedly lead to Ed Miliband standing down.

The Shadow Chancellor joins a long list of Labour casualties, including Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander and Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy.

It has also been a devastating night for the Liberal Democrats who could end up with as few as eight MPs. Meanwhile, a jubilant David Cameron has celebrated on Twitter as he looks set to return as Prime Minister for a second term, possibly with a narrow majority.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has hailed the election results as a "historic watershed" for the party after it swept the board in Scotland, taking a staggering 56 of 59 seats. One each were taken by the Lib Dems, Labour and the Conservatives

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