The Liberal Democrats have been reduced to a single seat in Scotland after a devastating night which saw several senior figures falling victim to the SNP surge.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander was the highest ranking politician north of the border to be ousted by Nicola Sturgeon’s landslide victory, losing his Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey seat to nationalist Drew Hendry.
Other high-profile casualties included former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy and coalition business minister Jo Swinson in East Dunbartonshire.
The party also lost the Gordon constituency, won by Alex Salmond, which was previously held by deputy party leader Sir Malcolm Bruce. He had held the seat since 1983 and announced he was standing down ahead of the election.
It was a similar story in North East Fife, Sir Menzies Campbell’s former constituency. He too announced his departure at the end of the last parliament having represented the seat since 1987.
As in Gordon, the Ming dynasty fell to the SNP, this time at the hands of first time candidate Stephen Gethins, once a special adviser to Mr Salmond.
Only Alistair Carmichael, Scottish Secretary during the coalition, was able to hold his seat in Orkney and Shetland.
As further evidence of the party’s demise, Sir Robert Smith was pushed into third place behind the SNP and the Conservatives in West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, which he had held since 1997.
Its fortunes north of the border contributed to a disastrous UK-wide picture, with the Lib Dems left with just eight MPs, prompting Nick Clegg’s resignation as leader.
The party’s share of the vote in Scotland was just 7.5%, down 11% on the 2010 outcome.
Reacting to the news of his defeat, Mr Alexander said it was “deeply disappointing” that his tally – similar to his winning score in 2010 – was not enough to get across the line.
He insisted the “flame of Highland liberalism” would keep burning, adding: “Our job is to make it burn brighter in the years to come.”
The former press officer was also critical of the “hugely divisive” campaign run by David Cameron, warning that the SNP would use its success to push for a second referendum on Scottish independence.
Mr Kennedy was beaten into second place in the R oss, Skye and Lochaber constituency by nationalist Ian Blackford, who won with 20,119 votes, a majority of 5,124.
The veteran Lib Dem said: “I’ll obviously personally be sorry not to be a voice in the Commons contributing to that debate.
“Although I certainly intend to continue to contribute in whatever way possible to the wider political debate and the activity of the Liberal Democrats.”