I would like to express my sincere thanks to all those who helped me during my campaign and to the very large number of people in the Cotswolds who put their trust in me by casting their vote for the Conservatives. You may also be interested to see a copy of my acceptance speech in which I pledged to repay the trust that you have all put into me.
ACCEPTANCE SPEECH
GENERAL ELECTION 2017
‘I would first of all like to offer my sincere gratitude to all of those involved in this election campaign. Gloucestershire Constabulary have worked very hard to ensure that all of those taking part in this campaign have been kept safe. The polling clerks, who have worked hard tonight to monitor and organise this count to the correct standards. Finally, thank you to my opponents. This has been a lively and interesting election campaign and I would like to thank you all for the work that you have put into it.’
‘I believe that an MP has their strongest democratic mandate the moment that they are elected – or re-elected in my case. With this in mind, I am going to break from the usual convention of acceptance speeches.’
‘Before and during this election campaign I have become increasingly concerned about the state of future planning in Cirencester and doubtless some of you will have seen my comments on the pedestrianisation the Market Place in the Wilts & Glos on 25 May.’
‘I am calling for an accelerated urgent review of this scheme with a view to making improvements to the safety of the pavement curbs for disabled, elderly and visually impaired pedestrians. I am also calling for a review of the one-way system on Castle Street and whether it should return to its original two-way function.’
‘Contrary to my expectations, there have been relatively few comments during this campaign about the Chesterton development. There needs to be far more debate about the timing of the building of 2,350 houses over the next 10 years and serious consideration needs to be taken for the infrastructure in every aspect that will need to be provided for this development.’
‘I am encouraging the creation of a South to West ring road to alleviate the increased traffic from the Chesterton development and we need to plan a protected route for this.’
‘It has been a major failure that a new surgery has not been delivered in Stow-on-the-Wold. If the Tall Trees site will now not come forward for development. To this end, I would like to call upon Cotswold District Council to approve enhanced planning permission for an alternative viable site.’
‘The Cotswold District Council needs to make the implementation of a local plan an absolute priority so that everyone in the Cotswolds has an idea about what and where new development will take place and to encourage the development of Neighbourhood Plans, which gives all local residents a say in the planning process.’
‘Finally, a hidden problem that I have unearthed during my campaign is the isolation of the elderly and disabled who cannot drive as a result of the loss of rural bus services in the constituency. This is unacceptable and I will be calling on Gloucestershire County Council to look very seriously at this problem.’
‘As I stated at the outset of my campaign, the Cotswolds deserves a candidate who is not afraid to fight for the best interests of their constituents. With my renewed mandate, I will continue to work hard to represent the Cotswolds in Westminster. It is my job now to seek to unite this constituency for the future and to ensure that the Cotswolds benefits from the many opportunities that lie ahead.’
