London : Liberal Democrats (Lib Dems) party leader Nick Clegg said it was a “cruel and punishing night” as the party has held only eight seats and lost 44 in the general elections held on Thursday, a media report said on Friday.
“It is now painfully clear this has been a cruel and punishing night for the Liberal Democrats,” Clegg said while speaking during the counting of votes in Sheffield Hallam constituency, which he has represented in the House of Commons since 2005.
“The election has profound implications for the country and for the Liberal Democrats,” BBC quoted Clegg as saying.
“I will be seeking to make further remarks about the implications of this election — both for the country and for the party that I lead and for my position in the Liberal Democrats — when I make remarks to my colleagues in the Liberal Democrats later this morning when I return to Westminster.”
Three cabinet ministers — Energy Secretary Ed Davey, Business Secretary Vince Cable and Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander — were among nearly 40 Lib Dem MPs to lose their seats.
Other senior Lib Dems to be toppled are Schools Secretary David Laws, former party leader Charles Kennedy and former deputy leader Simon Hughes.
The party had won 57 seats in 2010.
So far, Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative Party is leading with 315 seats, Ed Miliband’s Labour Party has secured 228 seats and the Democratic Unionist Party and the Liberal Democrats are tied at eight. The House of Commons has 650 seats.