Congleton Liberal Democrats

I am honoured and delighted to have been elected as President of the Liberal Democrats.

The news is overshadowed by the results of the general election where, in amongst the individual brilliant results, there were so many disappointments and tragedies. After such a promising start as our party leader only a few months ago, Jo's own defeat is particularly saddening.

The new President of the Liberal Democrats is….

Mark Pack

Many congratulations to him on his election and commiserations to Christine Jardine. Both were superb candidates and fought an election in the best traditions of Liberal Democrat internal elections.

I'd also like to give my thanks also to the staff and volunteers who have been counting in Liberal Democrat HQ since early this morning and who have run this set of elections whilst also preparing for and playing their party in the General Election campaign.

This winter election has been dark in more ways than one.

This winter election has been dark in more ways than one.

Leaders evading scrutiny, whether it was Corbyn ducking phone-ins or Johnson hiding in a fridge.

Voters feeling forced to choose the least worst option, squeezing out positivity.

Even before it started, we saw an exodus of MPs, especially women, ground down by abuse, intimidation and threats.

I'm tired, I'm sad and I'm frustrated.

In 6 seats, we were less than a thousand votes away from winning. That is agonising. Some of these campaigns saw increases in vote share of 20-30% - an extraordinary leap forward, achieved by hard work from fantastic teams.

We lost three outstanding MPs. Jane Dodds in Brecon and Radnorshire, Tom Brake in Carshalton and Wallington and of course, Jo Swinson in East Dunbartonshire.

We are still coming to terms with these three results. Jo missed out by just 149 votes. To have lost our Leader so soon after she was elected is a very bitter blow.

And on top of all that, we have a Boris Johnson majority Government.

Despite these disappointments, we got 1.2 million more votes yesterday than in the last General Election. Our vote was up 4% across the country. We have now established ourselves in close second places in a string of seats. We held three of our Scottish seats despite the SNP's best efforts, and kept three London MPs against the Tory surge.

We elected 11 brilliant MPs:

Alistair Carmichael in Orkney and Shetland
Christine Jardine in Edinburgh West
Daisy Cooper in St Albans
Ed Davey in Kingston and Surbiton
Jamie Stone in Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
Layla Moran in Oxford West and Abingdon
Munira Wilson in Twickenham, taking over from Vince Cable
Sarah Olney in Richmond Park, retaking the seat from the Conservatives
Tim Farron in Westmorland and Lonsdale
Wendy Chamberlain in North East Fife - which we lost by 2 votes last time!
Wera Hobhouse in Bath

That is a talented team and I know they will make their voices heard in Parliament against the new Conservative Government.

After any election, there are lessons to learn - and believe me, we will be thinking a lot about our results over the next weeks and months. But we were honest and open with voters about our vision, and I stand by that decision.

Let's all get some sleep and some rest. And then let's get ready to hold this Prime Minister to account.

We wake this morning to a double blow. A Conservative majority Government, hell-bent on pushing Brexit through, and the loss of our Leader, Jo Swinson from Parliament.

First, let me pay tribute to Jo. Her declaration speech in the early hours of this morning moved us all. Focusing on the future of our country and, importantly, standing by our principles and values as a Party. She will make a formal statement later today.

Parliament and our party will sorely miss her determination, passion and talent.

If you are wondering what happens now, Ed Davey will act as temporary Leader in the Commons and our Party President, Sal Brinton will help fulfil the other functions of Leader for the wider Party. Together they will jointly assume the Leadership functions of the party.

There are some wonderful gains amongst the shocking loss. Seeing talented people like Munira Wilson, Wendy Chamberlain and Daisy Cooper win, and Sarah Olney retake her seat - is something from which we can collectively draw strength.

We have achieved astonishing rises in vote share in places like Esher and Walton, Wimbledon, South Cambridgeshire and so many more. There is much we can build on from here, and we will be careful to learn the lessons to build for the future.

As I write, there are still some results yet to come in, so we will send you another update later.

Britain still needs the Liberal Democrats, today more than ever.

Thank you for everything that you have done during the course of this campaign and for the cause of Remain.

The bar of the Heath Farm. Padgbury Lane, Congleton.

We've been fighting Brexit since day one.

We've asked Parliament to support a confirmatory referendum (a People's Vote) on Brexit 17 times - and we're not going to stop. We've got another motion ready to go as soon as Parliament returns.

Every single Liberal Democrat MP elected today will work to stop Brexit.

Across the country today, thousands of activists are knocking on doors for the Lib Dems.

We've had hundreds of people join us here my own constituency, reminding Liberal Democrat supporters that it's now time to get out and vote.

Britain is tired of the politics of the past.

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn have no vision for the future of this country. Only the Liberal Democrats have a detailed, credible and radical plan to build a future where every person, every community and our planet can thrive.

Dear Sir,

To those of your readers who are still undecided about voting, I would say that it is not often we can see so clearly the motivations behind at least one of the main party's strategy in the hope that it might infl uence their vote.

David Cameron decided to call a referendum in 2016 to thwart the ambitions of his rivals on the right, UKIP thinking that it would clear the air.

Today is our chance to change the future of this country. It could be the day we make history.

Tomorrow morning, we could be waking up to see top Brexiteers have lost their seats to Liberal Democrats who will fight to stop Brexit. We're already hearing some great reports from key seats across the country.