In just one of a series of significant blows on a bad night for the Conservative Party, Penny Mordaunt lost her Portsmouth North seat.

The former Leader of the House of Commons, defeated by Labour’s Amanda Martin in a closely contested race, joined the likes of Grant Shapps and Jacob Rees-Mogg as senior Conservatives to lose their seats.

Mordaunt said: “You can speak all you like of security and freedom, but you can’t have either if you are afraid. Afraid about the cost of living or accessing healthcare, or whether the responsibility you shoulder will be recognised and rewarded. That fear steals the future, and it makes only the present matter. That is why we lost.”

Amanda Martin secured a majority of 780 with 14,495 votes, followed by Mordaunt on 13,715.

In the 2019 election, Mordaunt had secured a dominant majority, winning 61.4 per cent of the vote, with Ms Martin followed on 27 per cent.