The result in St Austell and Newquay

It was a privilege to represent MK in the St Austell and Newquay seat in the 2015 General Election, and to be able to work with such a wonderful team of fantastic and committed people, who have Cornwall’s best interests at heart. I believe that, together, we ran a good campaign. Our literature was good, the hustings went well, we worked hard and the feedback was extremely positive and yet, as in the 2010 General Election, this did not translate into a significant vote.

I came sixth and I am disappointed that I only polled a total of 2,063 votes, up slightly on the 2,007 votes I achieved in 2010, but down 0.2% in terms of the share of the overall vote at 4.1%.

I would like to sincerely thank everyone who supported me with their votes. I so wish that I could have achieved a better result for you all, but it remains my view that our biggest problem remains our inability to secure meaningful coverage on regional and UK-wide television – the medium which has the biggest impact on General Elections.

In my home parish of St Enoder Parish, which I am proud to represent on Cornwall Council, I managed 20%–25% of the vote, which equates to around 500 votes. Thank you to everyone in Fraddon, Indian Queens, St Columb Road and Summercourt, who supported me.

I also polled over 20% in the Trethurgy area, where I have been out-spoken in my opposition to the eco-town, and 17% in St Dennis, where I am well-known for my work against the incinerator. And again, I thank the people of these areas for putting their faith in me, but in many other places across the constituency, the MK vote was quite limited.

It is my intention to take the weekend off. In a few days, I will comment more about the outcome of the General Election, MK’s overall performance, the nature of the new Government, and MK's plans for the future,

My gratitude to everyone who supported the campaign.