Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson on course to lose her seat, according to exit poll
2 min read
Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson is set to lose her seat, according to the exit poll.
The result would almost certainly spell the end of her time in charge of her party after less than six months.
Ms Swinson had initially set her sights on making major gains for the Lib Dems when the election was called six weeks ago.
But after a faltering campaign, the party is now tipped to win 13 seats - just one more than in 2017.
Ms Swinson regained her East Dunbartonshire seat at the 2017 election, having lost it to the SNP two years earlier.
According to the exit poll, SNP candidate Amy Callaghan is set to win the seat back for her party.
Lib Dem frontbencher Christine Jardine told the BBC that the exit poll was "a bit of a surprise" and insisted her party could still outperform expectations.
She said: "We're really just waiting to see becase it's not a reflection of just ourselves or what the other parties have been seeing on the ground."
If she has lost her seat, Ms Swinson will be under enormous pressure to resign as party leader.
She has come in for severe criticism over the party's pledge to scrap Brexit entirely if it won the election, as well as the lacklustre nature of the Lib Dem campaign.
A Lib Dem source told PoliticsHome: "There's lots of anger towards Swinson and the national campaign. Revoke Article 50 went down badly on the doors, even with Remainers."
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