LIBERAL DEMOCRAT leader Jo Swinson has been forced to step down from her role after losing her seat in a shock defeat in the general election.

The former coalition minister lost out in a close fight in East Dunbartonshire to the SNP’s Amy Callaghan, who said her local campaign got her over the line.

Early on election night suggestions began to emerge that the SNP could take a prominent scalp. In the end, they took the seat by just 149 votes.

Just hours later, Sir Ed Davey and Baroness Sal Brintonacting were announced as acting Lid-Dem co-leaders, with Ms Swinson maintaining she was proud of her party’s efforts.

She added: "Tonight's result is obviously hugely disappointing, in East Dunbartonshire, and across the whole country with Boris Johnson winning a majority.

"I am proud that in this campaign, the Liberal Democrats have stood up for openness, generosity and hope. We were honest about what we believe in and what we were trying to achieve.”

Meanwhile, Ms Callaghan told BBC Scotland she was "delighted" to have unseated the Liberal Democrat leader - who at the start of the election campaign had declared she was running to be the next prime minister.

The new MP said: "It's quite a momentous achievement, both for me personally but also in terms of the people of East Dunbartonshire, completely rejecting the politics of austerity and also giving the people a chance to choose their own future, I think that is incredibly important."

Across Scotland, the Liberal Democrats remain on four seats, gaining North East Fife from the SNP, and holding elsewhere with an increased overall vote share.