THANK YOU!
I would like to thank all the people of Clwyd West constituency who cast their vote for me and the Labour Party in the General Election.
It is obviously very disappointing that we were not successful this time, but I am honoured that so many supported us, even in such difficult times.
There were also a large number of people who worked really hard on the campaign, who I will thank more directly but must mention here. Their unceasing work and dedication was truly marvelous and I am grateful for everything they did. Win or lose, the constituency should be proud that is was able to run such a campaign so well.
It was sad to see the Conservative candidate personalising the campaign and we took a conscious decision not to descend to his level. We kept to politics.
So, when most of his colleagues were able to be magnanimous in victory, it was astonishing that he actually singled out the Labour Party for running a "disgraceful" campaign! The message we put out to electors was that the Party wanted and we conducted a similar campaign to hundreds of constituencies up and down the country. I thought his comments to be undignified and completely unprofessional. But, then, he is a Tory!
At this stage we do know what will come next. All we can be sure if is that Clwyd West Labour Party is willing and able to face any challenge.
Again, thank you all for your wonderful support