2017 United Kingdom general election Conservatives, including Twickenham, won back by Vince Cable, and Kingston and Surbiton, won by Ed Davey, but lost two seats to Labour: Leeds North West and Sheffield Hallam, the seat of former party leader Nick Clegg. Richmond Park, which the Liberal Democrats had won in a 2016 by-election, was narrowly lost to the Conservatives. Caroline Lucas remained the sole Green Party MP, retaining Brighton Pavilion. In Scotland, the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats all gained seats from the SNP, whose losses were attributed to opposition to a second Scottish independence referendum, contributing to tactical voting for unionist parties. The
UK Independence Party representation and election results Commons. The party first had representation for a period in 2008 when Dr Bob Spink, the MP for Castle Point, resigned from the Conservative Party and joined UKIP on 21 April 2008. However, by November 2008, Spink had left UKIP, and in any case subsequently lost his seat to the Conservatives in the 2010 General Election. Douglas Carswell, the MP for Clacton, and Mark Reckless, the MP for Rochester and Strood, resigned from the Conservative Party to join UKIP on 28 August and 27 September 2014, respectively, and resigned their seats shortly thereafter. Carswell and Reckless won subsequent by-elections held