Webb has lost his Thornbury and Yate to Conservative Luke Hall, who took 41 per cent of the vote, compared to Webb’s 38 per cent.
McClymont secured just 30 per cent of the poll in Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East, which has been taken by Stuart McDonald for the SNP, with 60 per cent of votes.
The result means none of the leading parties has an active MP with recent experience of the pensions brief.
Ros Altmann is set to become a Conservative peer and will be appointed minister with responsibility for financial consumer protection and financial education. Before the election she had turned down the offer of pensions minister in a future Conservative government, in part because of the likelihood that Webb would remain in the post in the event of another Conservative-LibDem coalition.
Broadstone technical director David Brooks says: “The big question is which person will get the now vacant pensions minister brief. We’ve enjoyed a period of consistency with Steve Webb the incumbent for the whole of the parliament. We may be set for a return to period of pensions musical chairs. Boris Johnson would certainly be an interesting choice.”
Barnett Waddingham senior consultant Malcolm McLean says: “It will no doubt be a great disappointment to many within the pensions industry to learn that Steve Webb has lost his seat in the election and will no longer be able to continue his work now as Pensions Minister.
“There will be now no doubt be much speculation as to who the new pensions minister might be. There are no immediately obvious candidates and it would be unfortunate given the many pension challenges that still exist, if the new minister was someone with little or no experience of pensions, as was sadly evident prior to Steve Webb’s tenure.
“One possible solution might be to expand the new role proposed for Ros Altmann to operate as the next pensions minister from the House of Lords. I await with interest to see who the Prime Minister selects in the new Conservative Government and what changes if any to pensions policy may result going forward.”
