I’d like to thank the team at Wiltshire Council, the staff and volunteers who have counted the votes, those who staffed the polling stations, the police, and everybody who has delivered a safe and fair election in the new East Wiltshire constituency.
I’d also like to thank my fellow candidates. Putting yourself forward for election is challenging and it is intense, and I’m grateful to all of them.
I particularly want to thank and pay tribute to Danny Kruger and congratulate him on his election. I disagree with Danny fundamentally on a wide number of issues – and agree with him on some, too, notably the need to support our Armed Forces, and the importance of our history and heritage.
Throughout the campaign he has been civil and encouraging, and as someone standing for Parliament for the first time, that has meant a great deal.
I want to thank the East Wiltshire Labour team. Born out of the boundary changes and powered by firm belief, I could not and would not have done this without them. We have firmly established Labour as the party which is challenging the Conservatives in this part of the county.
We may have finished second here in East Wiltshire, but make no mistake: we are witnesses to history, and this is an absolute earthquake of a General Election, to rank alongside 1945, 1979 and 1997.
Voters in every region and in every nation have returned a Labour Government which will fight for economic security, an NHS back on its feet, a thriving agricultural sector, and better opportunities for our children. It’s an endorsement, too, for a Labour Party which is committed to our national defence and to our Armed Forces.
I want to say thank you to each and every person in the constituency who voted Labour this time, including those who voted tactically in the strong hope of victory. I’m grateful to all of you, and I appreciate the faith you placed in me.
Our new Government has a huge task ahead of it. For too long, we have been led by people who put sticking plasters over gaping wounds, and who put off the big decisions because they put their party before their country.
Now we face siren voices from the populist Right who, if they had their way, would drag us further into division.
There is no magic wand, and the road will be hard, but this Labour Party – this Labour Government – will be laser focused on the change we need to get Britain’s future back.
Here in East Wiltshire, we’ll carry on campaigning to ensure that this beautiful part of the world isn’t left behind.
