Voters finally had their revenge for the parliamentary expenses scandal last night as Jacqui Smith and a string of other Labour MPs with exorbitant claims were ousted from the House of Commons.
The former home secretary — who was forced to apologise after claiming for two porn films watched by her husband and wrongly listing her sister's house as her main home — was the most high profile faller as she lost her
Redditch seat by nearly 6,000 votes to the Tories.
Ms Smith, who appeared close to tears as she left the count, said she was "pleased" to have taken part in the contest.
"It's a good thing to take part in an election when you fear you're going to lose as well as when you hope you're going to win," she said.
Other victims of the public backlash included health minister Ann Keen. She and her husband Alan were dubbed "Mr and Mrs Expenses" after claiming nearly £140,000 between them over four years.
Former home office minister Tony McNulty, who claimed thousands of pounds for staying at his parents' home, also lost.
Communities minister Shahid Malik, who tried to claim £2,100 for a plasma TV, was another faller as he lost his Dewsbury seat to the Conservatives by just over 1,500 votes.
Former Cabinet minister Hazel Blears survived in Salford, however, despite the controversy over the thousands of pounds she gained by "flipping" her second home, while the Tories were also denied their "Portillo moment" when Children's Secretary Ed Balls claimed a narrow victory in the West Yorkshire seat of Morley and Outwood.
Other Labour victors included Communities Secretary John Denham, who held on after a recount in Southampton Itchen, and former GMTV reporter Gloria de Peiro — dubbed "Blair's favourite broadcaster" — who won Ashfield in Nottinghamshire by just 192 votes from the Lib-Dems.
The story of the night, however, was the number of former Labour ministers losing their seats. As well as Jacqui Smith, another former home secretary, Charles Clarke, was defeated,
losing his Norwich South seat by 310 votes to the Lib-Dems.
Mr Clarke, who has repeatedly criticised Gordon Brown's leadership, declined to blame the Prime Minister for his fall and instead defended his party's record in government.
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"Over the last 13 years, I believe Labour has achieved magnificent things both in this city and in the country," he said. "I believe that in the future things have to be thought through. I blame my loss on the fact that we were not able to make our case."
Elsewhere, armed forces minister Bill Rammell lost his Harlow seat in a 5.9 per cent swing to the Conservatives, while health minister Mike O'Brien lost Warwickshire North to Tory Dan Byles, who secured a majority of just 54.
Care services minister Phil Hope lost to Tory Louise Bagshawe in Corby, while public minister Gillian Merron also fell to the Conservatives, losing her Lincoln seat by just over 1,000 votes.
Other casualties included solicitor-general, Vera Baird, who lost to the Lib-Dems in Redcar, and third sector minister Angela Smith, who lost the key marginal of Basildon South to the Conservatives by more than 5,500 votes.
Transport minister Chris Mole lost his Ipswich seat to Conservative candidate Ben Gummer, and Paul Clark, another transport minister, lost the seat in Gillingham and Rainham, where he polled just 12,944 votes, far adrift of the Conservatives' Rehman Chishti on 21,624 votes.
Justice minister Claire Ward, who entered Parliament in 1997 as one of the youngest "Blair babes", lost her marginal seat in Watford to the Tories, while Jonathan Shaw, the minister for disabled people, was also ousted by the Conservatives, losing Chatham and Aylesford.
