Former Defence Minister James Heappey has hit out at the Conservatives for "calling the election at the wrong time", as the Tories suffered astonishing defeat by the Labour party after 14 years.
Sir Keir Starmer has wiped out Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as the Tories secured just 98 seats, with Labour securing 392 seats.
In a success for Reform UK, Nigel Farage's party won four seats, beating previously predicted polling, and the Lib Dems have won 60 seats.
Speaking to GB News after the exit polling, Heappey admitted that "whatever time the election was called", the Conservatives could expect "a result of this sort".
James Heappey said Rishi Sunak called the General Election 'at the wrong time'
GB News
When asked by host Camilla Tominey why the election has "gone so badly for the Tories", Heappey responded: "Hubris conceit, and the election called at the wrong time.
"But whenever you call it this year, a result of this sort was coming."
Noting the exit polling for Reform, which projected a staggering 13 seats for Nigel Farage's party, Heappey told GB News that the 131 seats predicted for the Conservatives "might still be too high" ahead of the results.
Heappey explained: "That number of Reform MPs and that number of Lib Dem MPs in the exit poll suggests to me that 131 might be still a little high.
James Heappey and Brandon Lewis hit out at the Tories following the shocking exit poll result
GB News
"It just feels to me that we're going to end up with a number a bit below that."
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Criticising the Conservatives, Heappey fumed: "This is an incredible rejection of what Brandon [Lewis] and I and our colleagues have delivered in government over the last five years.
"And every single one of us, whether we think that we were part of the various cliques that brought down one prime minister or another, whichever wing of the party we're on, if anybody is sat there watching this tonight as a Conservative member of Parliament from 2019 to 2024 and saying nothing to do with me, guv, they're kind of missing the point.
"This is a whole party moment of introspection and reflection."
Sharing his thoughts on the exit polling, former Lord High Chancellor Brandon Lewis told GB News admitted there is "no getting away" from the "worst result since the 1900s".
Brandon Lewis says the Conservatives will need to 'step back and think about the future of the party' following the exit polling
GB News
Lewis told GB News: "This is something that the party is going to have to actually come to terms with and think about in terms of what we do next and where the party moves next.
"There's a huge number of people across the country who have worked hard and will be devastated by this."
Looking ahead to the results of the election, Lewis continued: "What's going to be interesting as we go through the night is to see the vote share, the turnout levels, whether Labour have won not just a landslide in terms of parliamentarians, but whether they've won that popular vote on a level that means that they have overwhelmingly won.
"Or are they going to have to be very cautious themselves about the fact that there isn't that overwhelming, wider public support."
