The General Election Result

While we are all disappointed by the election result, there is a great deal to take away from the vote on Thursday. More people voted Conservative than at any time since 1992. Our party increased its vote share by 5.5% after two terms of government. We fell 1,688 votes short of a majority had those votes fallen in the right places. That in itself is a great achievement, but equally paints a picture of the work we need to do across the country for the future to secure the next Conservative majority government.

We have lost many great TRG friends from Parliament – Ben Howlett, Kris Hopkins, Jane Ellison, Gavin Barwell, Ben Gummer, Neil Carmichael, and others

As we move forward and head in to Brexit negotiations in just a few days’ time, we must work together to unite the country which has been so starkly divided by the referendum and this election result.

We are a truly a party of the whole nation – winning a terrific haul of seats in Scotland. We must learn the lessons and build on our ability to reach every corner of the country and every community. In government we should act accordingly.

Working with the DUP to provide stability is right, but that should not come at the price of compromising our principles. We should also build other coalitions in parliament to deliver a domestic agenda that works for everyone. We should work to achieve the social and economic reforms our country needs by cooperating with members on all sides of the House who we can work with to deliver real change.

The hard work of governing continues, the challenge of winning remains. If we  are to win an outright majority at the next election, we must remain firmly in the centre-ground.