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Lib Dem leader eyes ‘best result for a century’

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has said his party looks set to achieve its “best result for a century”, with predictions of wins in 56 constituencies.

That would represent a big increase on its performance in the 2019 election, when it returned to Parliament with just 11 MPs.

The party got its first victory of the night in Harrogate and Knaresborough – achieving a 15.8% swing to it away from the Conservatives.

It unseated Education Secretary Gillian Keegan in Chichester and Justice Secretary Alex Chalk in Cheltenham and has hopes of beating Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in Godalming and Ash.

Party sources think they have so far won in 47 seats including Wimbledon, North Cornwall and Henley.

The party’s predicted strong performance in the election follows its unorthodox approach to campaigning which saw leader Sir Ed take on a number of eye-catching stunts, including going down a waterslide and bungee-jumping.

The party decided to focus resources on a limited number of seats, largely targeting Conservative-held areas in the south of England.

Responding to the exit poll, published at 22:00 BST, Sir Ed said his party was “on course for our best results in a century”.

“I am humbled by the millions of people who backed the Liberal Democrats to both kick the Conservatives out of power and deliver the change our country needs.”

In his own seat of Kingston and Surbiton, Sir Ed increased his majority from 11,000 to 17,000.

In his acceptance speech, he said his party had listened to voter concerns, adding: “We hear you loud and clear.”

If the exit poll is accurate, the Liberal Democrats could return to Parliament as the third largest party, overtaking the SNP.

They have not held that position since 2015, when they were punished by voters for going into coalition government with David Cameron’s Conservatives.