Re-elected Stroud MP Neil Carmichael praises the hard work of election teams

THIS YEAR’S General Election was my fourth as a candidate for Stroud and turned out to be the most surprising so far.

I fought to win and thought I would be re-elected but with a much narrower majority than I actually achieved.

Thank you to all my campaign supporters and, of course, those who voted for me.

With fixed-term Parliaments, we all knew when polling day would be, and we also benefitted from clarity in terms of conduct and process in the months before the big day. All of this meant we could construct a campaign team, decide on key election themes and set out a strategy for the campaign period without worrying about uncertainty over timing or deadlines. Such advance planning can also be saluted – or otherwise – for inspiring the phenomenal number of leaflets and letters delivered to electors.

Such certainty also enabled organisations to arrange hustings where, normally, most candidates came together to answer questions from assembled audiences. In all, we participated in about a dozen of these events with virtually all of them being good humoured and illuminating. I enjoyed these occasions and I am grateful to my fellow candidates for their obvious commitment to this aspect of the democratic process.

Elections must be organised properly. Stroud District Council and the Electoral Commission both performed admirably in ensuring fair play, adherence to appropriate regulations and accuracy in all aspects of the process. In the Valleys and Vale we also had district, town and parish elections, meaning extra nominations, ballot papers and counting. All candidates thank the election officials after the results are announced but all residents should be grateful for the complex work behind the scenes to ensure smooth running of our elections.

Next we will be enjoying the ‘all-out’ district council elections where every seat on SDC will be contested. Also, there will be the referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union. Legislation will be necessary to set the rules and processes for this contest. Hopefully, we will have some referenda for neighbourhood plans.

There will be plenty more voting opportunities.