Henry Smith MP column, Crawley Observer, 13th May 2015
Last week it was humbling to be re-elected as Member of Parliament for Crawley, with an increased majority.
I want to say thank you to everyone who voted for me, or for any of the other candidates standing. I am grateful as well to the Mayor of Crawley, the Acting Returning Office; members of electoral staff and Sussex Police, all of whom worked day and night to ensure the election went securely.
The results were declared on the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day. I never fail to remember the sacrifices made to ensure that we have a democracy at all.
It was an honour to attend the VE Day commemorations in the Memorial Gardens, just hours after the General Election – appropriately my official engagement of the new Parliament.
I would like to thank each of my opponents, especially Cllr Chris Oxlade.
While Chris and I sometimes differ on how to get the best results for Crawley, everyone knows the spirit with which he serves our town.
Having lost two parliamentary elections myself, I know how hard this will be on Chris and his Labour colleagues.
My sincere congratulations to the newly- and re-elected councillors on Crawley Borough Council. The local authority is now made up of 19 Labour councillors and 18 Conservative, and I trust that all will work together to ensure the continued prosperity of our town.
When the Prime Minister, David Cameron, has confirmed his cabinet reshuffle, I will be contacting the Education Secretary regarding concerns of local teachers and West Sussex County Council surrounding local education funding. I met with a number of Crawley teachers before the General Election.
I work for the people of Crawley and Great Britain; I will do all I can to represent our interests.
If there is any issue you would like me to assist you on, if you wish for me to raise a particular issue with the Government then please write to me at Henry Smith MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA, call: 01293 934554 or email: henry.smith.mp@parliament.uk