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Clegg 'disappointed' at results Clegg 'disappointed' at results
(about 4 hours later)
Nick Clegg has acknowledged the Liberal Democrats have had a "disappointing night", despite his pre-election poll surge in the wake of the TV debates. Nick Clegg said the election result was "a disappointment" for the Lib Dems, and it was for the Tories to prove they were "capable of seeking to govern".
Mr Clegg, who said during the campaign it had turned into a "two-horse race" between his party and the Tories, may end up with fewer seats than 2005. He acknowledged many voters "decided to stick with what they knew best", despite his pre-election surge in the polls after the leaders' TV debates.
As he was returned as MP for Sheffield Hallam, Mr Clegg said: "We simply haven't achieved what we had hoped." However, Mr Clegg said he could "totally understand those feelings" at a time of economic uncertainty.
He urged no rushed decisions if, as expected, there is a hung parliament. The Lib Dems have 52 seats so far, down five on the result in 2005.
Mr Clegg, who retained his seat with an increased majority, but high profile Lib Dem MPs Lembit Opik and Evan Harris lost their seats. class="inlineText" href="/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/wales/8666699.stm">Among their high-profile casualties was Lembit Opik, who lost the previously safe seat of class="inlineText" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/constituency/w23.stm">Montgomeryshire, and Evan Harris in class="inlineText" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/constituency/d48.stm">Oxford West and Abingdon.
'Positive campaign' Both were beaten by Conservative candidates.
With most results in, the Lib Dem vote is up 0.9% on 2005, Labour down 6.5% and the Conservatives up 4%. Mr Clegg retained his seat of class="inlineText" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/election2010/results/constituency/d96.stm">Sheffield Hallam with an increased majority, however.
Mr Clegg said: "This has obviously been a disappointing night for the Liberal Democrats. We simply haven't achieved what we had hoped. I'm nonetheless proud of the way we conducted the campaign. Ian Swales of the Lib Dems unexpectedly defeated Solicitor General Vera Baird in class="inlineText" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/constituency/d65.stm">Redcar in Cleveland, previously a Labour stronghold.
I don't think anyone should rush into making claims or taking decisions which don't stand the test of time Nick Clegg And Sarah Teather won the newly-created seat of class="inlineText" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/election2010/results/constituency/a62.stm">Brent Central, beating former Labour MP Dawn Butler.
"I think we conducted a positive campaign, full of hope, full of optimism, which I think did engage a lot of people in the election campaign, even if they didn't then go on to vote for the Liberal Democrats." 'Very fluid' situation
The Conservatives look set to be the biggest party but short of an overall majority - and Britain's first hung parliament in Britain for more than three decades is predicted. Speaking outside the Liberal Democrats' headquarters in Westminster, Mr Clegg said it was a "source of great regret" that some of his MPs had lost their seats.
Downing Street sources have indicated Gordon Brown will seek to open coalition talks with the Lib Dems. But Mr Clegg said everyone should "take a little time so that people get the good government that they deserve in these very difficult and uncertain times". Many voters "were excited about the prospect of doing something different", he said, but had "decided to stick with what they knew best".
"Clearly the final election result is still a little unpredictable, people have voted but no one appears to have won emphatically," said Mr Clegg. The UK's hung parliament had led to a "very fluid" political situation, he added, calling for Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Conservative leader David Cameron to act "in the national interest and not out of narrow party political advantage".
"I don't think anyone should rush into making claims or taking decisions which don't stand the test of time. I think it would be best if everybody were just to take a little time, so that people get the good government that they deserve in these very difficult and uncertain times." Former Lib Dem MP Lembit Opik was unexpectedly defeated by the Tories
But he said his party would be "guided by the values and the principles on which we fought this election" - fairness, responsibility in providing stability and growth to an economy and "real change to the way we do politics". Mr Clegg maintained his pre-election position that the party with the highest number of seats should have the first say in trying to form a government.
He also expressed dismay at voters who were turned away from polling stations which could not cope with increased turnout: "That should never, ever happen again in our democracy." "It is now for the Conservative Party to prove that it is capable of seeking to govern in the national interest," he said.
And he called once again for the UK's electoral system to be reformed, saying it was "broken" and "simply doesn't reflect the hopes and aspirations of the British people".
Earlier, when his own result was declared, Mr Clegg said he would be "guided by the values and the principles on which we fought this election".
These were "fairness in our society; responsibility in providing stability and growth to an economy at a time particularly of growing uncertainty, as we have seen in recent hours and days in the economy in the world around us; and real change to the way we do politics."
Liberal Democrat MPs and peers will hold a private meeting on Saturday to begin considering how their party might work with Labour or the Conservatives.