Army veteran Johnny Mercer loses his Plymouth seat to former Royal Marine

Johnny Mercer, the former Veterans' Affairs Minister, has lost his seat in the General Election to a former Royal Marine running for the Labour Party.

Mr Mercer saw his seat as the MP for Plymouth Moor View go to Fred Thomas, who won 17,665 votes – or 41.2% of the vote compared with Mr Mercer's 28.1% share at 12,061.

The former British Army officer said he had no comment about the result, before later congratulating the Labour candidate adding he hoped he does "very well".

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In a post on X, Mr Thomas said he was "truly humbled to be elected as the Labour MP for Plymouth Moor View".

"Representing the community I live in will be the honour of my life," the post read.

Mr Thomas also said he could not wait to be part of the next Labour government.

"Plymouth has voted for change, hope and the idea we can have better for our community and our city, and I’m absolutely delighted," he said.

Mr Thomas's website said he had been aiming to "neutralise Johnny Mercer's electoral 'trump card' of having a military service record".

Outgoing Mr Mercer had served as the Minister for Veterans' Affairs since October 2022.

Before his election loss, he shared a post on X urging people to vote for him an hour-and-a-half before the polls closed.

"Thanks for all your support thus far," the post read. "We left it all out there for you."