'Thanks to all those who voted for change'

AS THE dust has now settled on the general election, I would be grateful if you would be so kind as to publish this open letter.
By The Newsroom
Published 27th May 2010, 10:53 BST
Updated 27th May 2010, 10:53 BST

Firstly I would like to express thanks, sincere thanks, to the over seven thousand of you who voted in East Antrim in support of our message for change and thanks to all those who worked so hard locally on our campaign.

We will continue to offer real and meaningful change in East Antrim at future elections. I hope those who supported us at this election will not feel too disappointed that we did not win this time, and I hope you will continue to support us, while we work to persuade others to come on board with our bold vision for change. Our Party is an open door to all of you who voted for us, indeed it is open to those who didn't vote this time or even didn't support us, and if you share our passion that things can be done differently come and join us to make it happen.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

I offer congratulations to Sammy Wilson, the victor at this election, and I wish him well in representing our area in the new Parliament. That said, I offer him a warning, I am passionate about East Antrim being represented to the standard we should expect and to the standard we deserve. If he falls short of this standard, and I hope he does not, I will not be slow in pulling him up.

A short four-week campaign following a late selection process presented challenges in itself in building momentum, but we are delighted to have increased in East Antrim our total vote and percentage share of the vote from the last Assembly election. Ultimately however, we take responsibility for failing to sell our message sufficiently widely or effectively for us to win this time. We have learned our lessons and we will be much more competitive at future elections.

We feel this has created a stable platform for us to move forward at future Assembly and Westminster elections. We will continue to work to engage younger people in politics and we note the particularly low turnout in East Antrim at this election - well below the local and national averages.

Personally, I look forward to offering myself as a candidate at future elections and am delighted to say I have the backing of the Ulster Unionist Party in doing so, and for those who thought at 33 I was too young at this election, fear not, I will only get older!

Best wishes,

Rodney McCune,

Conservatives & Unionists, East Antrim

Related topics:East AntrimUlster Unionist PartySammy WilsonParliamentUnionists