00:00Okay, so from a Conservative perspective, what was your view when you saw the exit poll?
00:05I mean, I think it's still early in the night, so we need to take things with an air of caution,
00:12but obviously it's not ideal from our party's perspective, but it's not something that we
00:19weren't not expecting, if that makes sense. Obviously there's still a lot of votes to
00:25be cast, sorry counted, not cast, but it's difficult because obviously these people have
00:34put their trust in us five years ago and if they haven't voted us in this time, then we've
00:39got a job on our hands to get them back, and that's exactly what we're trying to do. Whatever
00:44the results of the national elections and here in Samwell, us as a group and a party,
00:49we start again tomorrow to rebuild trust and faith in our brand of politics, because I
00:54know we can do that. I'm testament to that in the local elections, you know, to not
01:00only retain my seat but with an increased majority, it shows that when you've got good
01:05Conservative councillors, good local Conservative councillors and good local Conservative politicians,
01:10we can do what we do best, which is represent the people of Samwell.
01:14What does the party need to do nationally, in your opinion, to be able to come back stronger
01:18when the next election happens?
01:19Well, I think it's too early in the night to give a full diagnosis, to be honest with
01:24you, of the problems, and I'm sure that there will be many, many debates.
01:27There will be a post-mortem, I suppose.
01:29Yes, there will be, and it will go on a lot longer than two hours after the polls close.
01:34I think nationally we have to start locally, you know, we need to build brands locally
01:40with people and build connections with the residents that voted us in in 2019 to show
01:45them that reform isn't what they want, you know, they need Conservatives because if they
01:49don't have Conservatives, they'll have Labour, and it's clear tonight that I don't actually
01:54think Labour will get 50% of the vote in, well, in Tipton and Wensbury in particular,
02:01but inevitably, it doesn't matter whether they get 50% of the vote or not, if they get
02:07the most votes, then they'll win the seat, whether people wanted Labour or not, and we've
02:11just got a job on our hands to make sure that people round here know that it's the Conservatives
02:16that are best placed to represent them and not reform or the Labour Party.
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