As I watched the votes cast in South Holland and the Deepings at the General Election being tallied, I marvelled, again, at both the efficiency and integrity with which elections here - and across our Kingdom - are run. Votes recorded last Thursday were counted that night (and into the early hours of the day after), with the result announced there and then.
Few reading this column will have ever been to an election count - so imagine, if you will, the drama of thousands of ballots being totalled, as those counting are closely observed by appointed representatives of each candidate. Thanks to the (Acting) Returning Officer, Christine Marshall, and the entire South Holland District Council election team, the process could not have been more transparent or fair. What a contrast with so many parts of the world where political power is either seized by force or coercion. The openness of our democracy is especially British, as is the way that, following the poll, power moved seamlessly from the Government of one Party to another. The ‘mother of parliaments’ is, justly, envied worldwide.
Thanks too to all my defeated opponents; for to choose to be judged by your peers in an election requires pluck and demands strength of character. I particularly admired the decision of my very young Liberal opponent to stand – what an experience for the 23-year-old (!) and his family.
My final and heartfelt thanks to all those in every part of my constituency who voted for me. You can feel certain that I will continue to give voice to what matters most; so all the causes I have championed can be sure of where I stand -from the campaigners against quarrying in West Deeping to those opposing the proposed asphalt plant in Sutton Bridge; from the supporters of Spalding’s flower parade to the all local people fighting the imposition of thousands of huge solar panels and hundreds of giant pylons on prime agricultural land
Once elected, an M.P. represents not just their Party, but the entirety of their constituency, without fear or favour. After all, when approached for help someone in need the salient question is not how they voted! In that spirit, serving in Parliament over the coming years, I will continue to put people before politics.
