Alex Salmond ousted in Gordon as Tories deal major blow to SNP

Alex Salmond was among the big scalps to fall in the general election after losing his seat in to the Conservatives' Colin Clark.

Salmond, who led the Scottish National Party (SNP) between 2004 and 2014, won his seat in Gordon two years ago but failed to hang on, receiving 35.9% of preferences to Clark's 40.7%.

The figure represented an 11.8% decline for the SNP from the 2015 General Election, while the Tories' support surged by 29%.

Speaking after his defeat, Salmond said the public "had not seen the last of him" and added politics had been "the privilege of my life".

"I'm grateful for these times," he added.

"For the activists in the SNP who have made the many electoral successes possible."

In a career spanning three decades at both Westminster and at Holyrood, Salmond has been a pivotal figure of Scottish politics. The 62-year-old was instrumental in securing his party's remarkable Holyrood landslide in 2011, which paved the way for the independence referendum three years later.

His defeat is a serious blow to the SNP, which have so far secured only 29 seats, compared with the 58 they won two years ago when the enjoyed a dramatic surge in popularity.

While the party is on course to have the largest number of Scottish seats, its Westminster party is a much smaller grouping, given the Conservatives have so far secured 10 seats north of the border with more to declare.

The Tories have rode the tide of pro-Brexit and anti-independence feeling across rural Scotland, which saw Angus Robertson, one of Salmond's closest allies, lose his seat of Moray earlier in the day.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who succeeded Salmond as SNP leader three years ago, admitted the party had "a lot of thinking" to do.

"Clearly we didn't necessarily anticipate the late surge to Jeremy Corbyn," she added.

Salmond was the latest high-profile politician to depart on a night that saw former deputy Nick Clegg and Conservative housing minister Gavin Barwell lose their seats.