Jo Swinson in front of the battle bus. Photo by Aaron Chown/PA Wire/PA Images
Jo Swinson started the election saying she would be prime minister. She is no longer even an MP.In one of the many upsets of the general election, Swinson has been unseated as the MP for East Dunbartonshire in Scotland. She lost to Scottish National Party (SNP) contender Amy Callaghan by 149 votes.Swinson was hanging onto her constituency with a relatively small majority of 5,339. The first sign that her days were numbered came with Thursday’s BBC/ITV/Sky exit poll, which predicted a 95 percent chance that the SNP would snatch the seat away from the Liberal Democrats.
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The same poll predicted that the Lib Dems would only gain one more seat – bringing the total number of their MPs in parliament to 13. The SNP were projected to win 55 seats.So what happens now? Will she remain as Lib Dem leader?You do not have to be an MP to lead a party – SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon is an MSP, for instance. The Liberal Democrats could also theoretically parachute her into a safe seat in a by-election if one of their MPs steps down.But she will come under immense pressure to step down. She is widely perceived to have led a disastrous campaign – one poll found that voters liked her less the more they saw of her.She previously said that she would refuse to step down if the party did badly in the election. “I am absolutely going to stay and I am excited about the future,” she said on [](https://www.skygroup.sky/corporate/media-centre/articles/en-gb/Sophy-Ridge-on-Sunday-Jo-Swinson-Liberal-Democrat-Leader)Sophy Ridge on Sunday. It is hard to see how she could stay on without a seat in parliament.@misszing