Election results 2017: Nick Clegg loses Sheffield Hallam seat
- Published
Nick Clegg: 'There's a huge gulf between young and old'
Labour has defeated the former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg and taken Sheffield Hallam.
The former deputy prime minister lost to Labour's Jared O'Mara by more than 2,000 votes.
He becomes one of the most high-profile figures to lose his seat in this election.
Mr Clegg, who was elected leader of the party in December 2007, said he had "never shirked from the political battlefield".
He warned of the "agonising" future ahead for the next government that seeks to unite a divided country.
"It is a parliament, which in my judgement, will not only face the excruciating task of trying to assemble a sensible government for this country, but it will need to deal with the agonising decisions which we face as a country as we navigate our way towards Brexit," he said.
He said the government "would be presiding over a deeply divided and polarised nation".
It comes as an exit poll suggests the Liberal Democrats are set to increase their number of seats.
Mr Clegg formed a coalition with the Conservatives in 2010.
He stood down as leader in 2015, after which Tim Farron was elected.
In Doncaster North, former Labour leader Ed Miliband was re-elected with an increased share of the vote.
The Conservatives also increased their share of the vote at the expense of Ukip.
Labour held Wentworth and Dearne, with John Healey polling 28,547 votes. The party also held Rotherham, Rother Valley and Penistone and Stocksbridge.
The party also held Sheffield Central, Sheffield South East, Sheffield Heeley, Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, Barnsley Central and East, Doncaster Central and Don Valley.