Thank You

We really are now living in extraordinary times, and what an extraordinary journey we’ve just been through together.

In our city the dust is now beginning to settle, after the relentless activity of the General Election. Nationally, we move forward, towards an uncertain future, with open minds and hopeful hearts.

As we start to consider what the coming months and years might bring, I think it is important to reflect on our time together so far, and for me to offer you all my thanks.

14,283 people voted for a Conservative change in Derby North on May 6th. Despite protestations from certain candidates that the Conservative Party had no chance of winning, we fell short by only 613 votes.

Gaining that level of support in our city is a remarkable achievement for our party
I believe, that those residents who voted Conservative on May 6th, voted for change. Now, although not quite in the form we were expecting, or perhaps hoping for, change is what we have and we should embrace and support it in any way that we can.

I remain incredibly proud of the campaign my party fought during the election. Still, I wholeheartedly congratulate Chris Williamson on being elected as the latest MP for Derby North.

Chris fought a solid and fair campaign, never seeking to engage in the negative personal attacks that both he and I were forced to endure from a candidate who ultimately, came a distant third.
Despite claiming for so long, to know the outcome of the election before it had even happened, their third place finish leaves a damning verdict on the type of negative campaigning that the local Liberal Democrats have been engaged in. I hope we never see that kind of behaviour from a political party in Derby North again, we all deserve better.

Now, we look to the future.

Unfortunately, Derby North will not have a voice in our new Government. One of my real regrets is that we didn’t do enough to ensure that all of you, my friends and neighbours, are able to influence the direction of our new coalition government.

Despite that, Having achieved a massive swing away from Labour to the Conservative Party in Derby North, we have an incredibly strong and solid foundation to build on. To all of our local constituents, we pledge to continue working hard, to put your interests and concerns at the very heart of what we do.

These are extraordinary times, Derby is an extraordinary city and I remain proud to be a part of it