I WOULD like to thank all those who voted for me as the Labour Party candidate for the Forest of Dean in last week's election.
At the time of writing this letter, the outcome of the talks between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats is unknown.
What is abundantly clear is that, in the Forest of Dean, Labour remains the only likely alternative to a Conservative MP.
Locally, the Liberal Democrat campaign aimed to persuade Labour voters to switch to them by their repeated and absurd assertion that it was a, "Two horse race", between them and the Conservatives. The outcome of the election was an eloquent rebuff of that absurdity.
It is my profound wish that the next General Election, whenever it comes, will be contested on an electoral system where every vote counts. If, in their negotiations with the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats compromise on their position on electoral reform, the opportunities opened up by last week's results could be lost for a generation.
Once again, thank you to all those who voted Labour.
Bruce Hogan, Upper Lydbrook.