Paul Ray's Post Election message

Paul Ray's message to the Costituency:

"Overall we had a great campaign in Lichfield, Burntwood and the villages and the news from Lichfield was certainly HUGE. Our Conservative MP, Michael Fabricant, is out. 

As Lib Dems we got a good result on 4 July in Lichfield. We did our bit to get rid of our Conservative MP by getting Conservative voters to come across to us. We got 7.3% of the vote. That’s very respectable for a seat like Lichfield. I would like to thank all those who voted for me - and we know that due to tactical voting our true level of support is a lot higher than that in this area.

We certainly also had a great campaign nationally. With our 72 MPs we are now certainly back as a real force in British politics.

So what does this result mean for the country? 

- We must have proportional representation. It is just not right that we have a government elected with a dominant majority with 34% of the vote.

- The country is terribly divided and lacks faith in politics. Just look at the size of the Reform vote and the worryingly low turnout. 

- The country is desperate for a new direction - and a fairer country. Now the new government must get to work and deliver the change we desperately need.

Finally for us as Lib Dems the future looks good; locally we are in a strong place and nationally we are BACK.

Thank you."