Former skills minister Anne Milton and her opposite number Gordon Marsden have both lost their seats in the House of Commons in the general election.

As the Conservatives raced to a strong overall majority, shadow FE minister Mr Marsden lost the Blackpool South seat he had held for Labour since 1997.

Tory candidate Scott Benton picked up 49.6 per cent of the vote, with Mr Marsden finishing second with 38.3 per cent.

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Ms Milton lost the Guildford seat she had held for the Tories since 2005. After losing the party whip, she stood as an independent candidate. Ms Milton had held the role of apprenticeships and skills minister from June 2017 to July 2019.

She picked up 4,356 votes, placing fourth behind the Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Labour candidates.

Tom Bewick, chief executive for the Federation of Awarding Bodies, failed to win the Dagenham and Rainham seat that he contested for the Brexit Party, finishing in third place with 6.6 per cent of the vote.