With the counting all but finished, we now know the fates of all nine former secretaries of state for work and pensions since 2010.
Three were no longer serving as MPs, with Chloe Smith standing down before this election, whilst Amber Rudd and David Gauke left the commons in 2019 .
Of the six left, Therese Coffey, Damian Green and Stephen Crabb all lost their seats today.
The most recent secretary of state for work and pensions, Mel Stride, held onto his seat by just 61 votes.
Esther McVey beat her Labour challenger by a more convincing 1,136 votes.
And Iain Duncan Smith was saved from defeat by Labour party infighting which saw the long-standing candidate Faiza Shaheen dropped by Labour because of her views on Palestine. The result was an even split between the official Labour candidate and Shaheen, who both gained over 12,000 votes against IDS’s 17,000.
The results in full were:
Mel Stride. 2022 to 2024. Central Devon. Won by just 61 votes against Labour challenger
Chloe Smith. 2022 to 2022. Stood down 2024
Thérèse Coffey. 2019 to 2022. Suffolk Coastal. Lost by 1070 to Labour.
Amber Rudd. 2018 to 2019. No longer an MP, stood down 2019.
Esther McVey. 2018 to 2018. Tatton. Won by 1,136 against Labour challenger.
David Gauke. 2017 to 2018. No longer an MP, voted out after standing as an independent in 2019.
Damian Green. 2016 to 2017. Ashford. Lost by 1,779 to Labour challenger.
Stephen Crabb. 2016 to 2016. Mid and South Pembrokeshire. Lost by 2,238 to Labour challenger.
Iain Duncan Smith. 2010 to 2016. Chingford and Woodford Green. Won by 4,757 votes against the Labour challenger.
