Tom Brake delivered another blow to the Conservatives by holding on in Carshalton and Wallington for a Lib Dem victory.
Tom Brake won 20,819 of the votes cast, 41 % in total, in a close fought contest with the Tories.
Matthew Maxwell-Scott gained 19,450 of the votes for the Conservatives, missing out by 1,369 in another damaging result for his party.
Brake, MP for Carshalton and Wallington since 1997, held a majority of 1,510 and the result is another example of a targeted seat the Conservatives have failed to win.
Mr Brake said: “This has been quite a strange election for everyone but I am very pleased that we got Vince Cable back because he is someone who has consistently been able to put across some really complicated economic issues that people can understand and grasp.
“He is more than an intellectual match for anyone who can be put up by any of the other parties in a treasury capacity.
“It’s not a brilliant night for the party but it’s going to be a good night.
“We’ve improved our results from two years ago and we’ve now got more people in Parliament.
“There may be more opportunities for the Lib Dems to challenge the Tories, either to join forces with them on issues or to join forces with other parties and that should make this future parliament far more dynamic.
“There will certainly be no formal coalition with any of the other parties.”
Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat) 20,819, Matthew Maxwell-Scott (Conservative) 19,450, Emine Ibrahim (Labour) 9,360, Shasha Khan (Green) 501, Ashley Dickenson (Christian People) 189, Nick Mattey (Independent) 434
Liberal Democrat hold, majority 1,369 (-141)
Turnout: 50,853
