County councillor Alistair Dewhirst retained his Ipplepen seat for the Lib Dems with 1,039 votes.

He said afterwards: 'I'm honoured. I believe I've worked hard for the last five years – I shall work hard for Ipplepen over the next five years.'

He admitted it had been 'a very difficult night' for his party across the country.

'But we move forward. We carry on the fight for social justice,' he said.

He added that he was 'very disappointed' that Nick Clegg had quit.

'He did the right thing for the country at the time.

'He's been a man of steel.'