LETTER: Thank you – this was democracy at its best

I would like to thank, from the bottom of my heart, all the voters who believed change was possible and voted for me. I am truly humbled to see how many voters supported the Labour Party’s bold vision for Britain.

I also wish to thank all the electorate for exercising their right to vote.

I am grateful to the returning officer and the electoral services team, the staff at the polling stations and at the count, the police and the security staff. It is their dedication and sterling work that made the elections here a success.

I would like to congratulate John Hayes for yet another victory. On the campaign trail I spoke to many people and I know how highly valued he is as the constituency MP.

It has been an honour to be his opponent.

Of course, I wanted a victory for the Labour Party in our constituency. But the election result does not feel like a defeat. We have hugely improved on the previous General Election result. It has been an honour to stand as a Labour candidate in the parliamentary elections in our constituency and to offer its residents an alternative, bold vision of a better, fairer Britain, set in our manifesto.

There is no democracy without choice and I am proud of having been able to offer this choice to the voters. And I thank all the candidates for standing and fair, positive campaigning. That is our democracy at its best!

Finally, I wish to thank my election agent, Roy Stephenson, and my colleagues in the Constituency Labour Party – my wonderful team. It was your dedication and enthusiasm in running our positive campaign that made such a good result possible. This is your success!

Voyteck S Kowalewski
Labour Party candidate for South Holland and The Deepings, General Election 2017