Two Sussex alumni standing for re-election as Members of Parliament lost their seats as British voters went to the polls on Thursday 5 May.
Sitting Labour MP Peter Bradley narrowly lost his seat in The Wrekin to the Conservatives, who overturned the 2001 result with a majority of 942. The outcome was even closer in Gravesham, where the Tories beat Labour's Chris Pond by just 654 votes.
The other seven Labour MPs who had studied at Sussex were re-elected, although all of them saw their percentage of the vote tumble. They are Hilary Benn (Leeds Central, -6.9%); Roger Berry (Kingswood, -7.9%); Ben Bradshaw (Exeter, -8.7%); Peter Hain (Neath, -8.1%); David Lepper (Brighton Pavilion, -13.3%); Dan Norris (Wansdyke, -6.2%); and Martin Salter (Reading West, -8.1%).
Hilary Benn, who has been Secretary of State for International Development since 2003, retained his post in the Cabinet reshuffle on 6 May. Peter Hain added responsibility for Northern Ireland to his brief as Secretary of State for Wales.
Two Sussex graduates, Tony Baldry (Banbury) and Michael Fabricant (Lichfield), successfully stood for re-election as Conservative MPs. In St Ives, Liberal Democrat Andrew George also held his seat.
There was disappointment for some new candidates with Sussex connections who had entered the fray. David Lepper's opponents in Brighton Pavilion included a fellow Sussex graduate, Keith Jago, who won 42 votes as an independent. Dr Richard Black, a current member of academic faculty, came third for Labour in Lewes, with exactly 9% of the vote. Marina Pepper, who recently completed an MA in Dramatic Writing at Sussex, was third for the Liberal Democrats in Brighton Kemptown, where she took 16.5% of the vote.