The Conservative party is celebrating a stunning victory in the snap general election called by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
As he said himself, it was an election we did not want. Many of you, I know, will have cursed the timing but still gone out there leafleting and knocking doors in freezing wind and rain as midwinter approached.
Boris was also right, however, to say there was no alternative but an election. Parliamentary paralysis threatened to deny the result of the EU referendum altogether. A General Election became the only way of breaking the log jam and gaining a fresh mandate to press ahead with the renegotiated withdrawal deal.
And what a mandate it proved to be. A simple message about getting Brexit done and unleashing Britain's potential, together with a sensible list of priorities and promises, spoke to the hearts of ordinary people across Britain.
Many of the constituencies here and in the north of England which returned a Conservative, had not done so in decades - some never.
Our results here in the West Midlands were truly remarkable. We won a staggering nine seats: Birmingham Northfield, Dudley North, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stoke-on-Trent Central, Stoke-on-Trent North, West Bromwich East, West Bromwich West, Wolverhampton North East, Wolverhampton South West. Well done to all.
This has given an altogether unfamiliar but thoroughly welcome look to the political map of our region.
All of Stoke-on-Trent is now blue, as are West Bromwich and Dudley. We took two of the three seats in Wolverhampton and had a major breakthrough in Birmingham.
I am so proud of all our local Conservative candidates. They are from the West Midlands and for the West Midlands, and I know they will represent their constituents very well.
Our Team-Seats system worked brilliantly, giving us not only a talented and dedicated pool of local candidates but also a highly-motivated and well-drilled support team in each key constituency.
The result was that thousands voted for us in areas where they never have before. We now represent a very much broader range of people than ever. That will be a challenge and we must not let them down.
Together we must work to make One Nation Conservatism work for all our citizens here in the West Midlands, and secure their trust and their votes long into the future.
For me it means I can finally be sure that I am sending you this message for the last time. I have been so grateful for your support and encouragement during my time as your MEP and would like to thank you, all of you, for the backing you have given to me and my wonderful team.
December 2019 newsletter from Anthea McIntyre MEP
Photo: Anthea co-hosting and speaking at a EuropaBio working lunch on Genome editing.
Photo 2: Campaigning in Coventry.
Photo 3: Welcoming Mrs Rajavi, leader of the PMOI in Strasbourg. Anthea has consistently spoken out about human rights abuses in Iran.
