Now that the dust has settled and we have all more or less got back to our normal sleep patterns after the marathon count I would like to reflect a little on the election campaign and, most importantly, thank those people who voted Labour in Horsham.
It is not just the voters I have to thank: I would also like to pay tribute to the members of Horsham Labour party, especially the Chair and election agent, David Hide and the campaign co-ordinator Carol Hayton for all their hard work. I single them out, but all members have played their part; canvassing, delivering leaflets, manning street stalls, making donations, organising fund-raising events, providing moral support at hustings, and in many other ways.
During the couple of years I have been Labour's candidate in Horsham, and especially during the few weeks of the election campaign, I met many people at meetings, street stalls, and on the doorstep who were pleased to see a Labour candidate and I am proud to have been in that position, to represent the party and its supporters.
I did not expect to win the seat, I don't think anybody expected me to win, so I had other targets for the campaign, which were more acheivable: to raise the profile of the party locally, to build team spirit within the party, to increase membership and to gain publicity for the party's local campaigns, such as the attempts to get more affordable housing and rescue the council's play schemes. I think we were successful in those ambitions.
Above all I wanted to show that the Labour party is the only real alternative to the Tories in Horsham. We have seen how the Liberal Democrats on Horsham district council have been compliant in the ruling Tory group's plans, preferring to not make waves rather then to offer any real opposition. Now we are seeing, at the national level, how the Lib Dem leadership is the party of expedience rather than the party of change.
Liberal Democrat members at the grassroots must be disappointed, and those Labour supporters who decided that a tactical vote for the Lib Dems was their best anti-Tory option may well be kicking themselves now. My colleagues in Horsham Labour party have felt for a long time that the local scene can be described as 'vote yellow, get blue' and recent developments will not have changed their mind.
The last few weeks have been a real rollercoaster, but I have enjoyed the ride immensely, even though I knew what was waiting at the end. And like all the best rollercoaster rides I disembarked with shaky legs but a strong temptation to get back on for another go. Whether I do that or not is, of course, not up to me but if asked I will find it hard to resist - although Mrs.Skudder might have something to say about it...