I am delighted to have been returned as the Member of Parliament for Tewkesbury and honoured to be asked to serve the constituency for a further five years.
The result was great, both in Tewkesbury and nationally, and I am grateful to everyone who voted for me. We increased our vote by 5,000, taking it to over 30,000. We increased our share of the votes cast by over 7 percentage points. And we increased our majority from 6,300 to almost 22,000.
I should like to thank everyone who voted for me at this election. However, it is the job of an MP to represent the interests of all constituents, regardless of how they voted, and this is what I intend to do to the best of my abilities and the fullest of my energies over the next five years.
There is now much work to be done and the government intends to work down three particular avenues: to continue to improve the economy for everyone; to build even better public services; and to manage the constitution of the country in a fair way. Included in this last category is the intention to hold an in-out referendum on our membership of the European Union.
There will be many demands and many challenges ahead, of course, but I will do everything I can for my country and for the people of the Tewkesbury constituency. Again, I am grateful for being given the privilege of doing so. Do not hesitate to contact me with your concerns and views, I am always interested to hear them.
Again, thank you for your support.
Laurence