It was probably one of the most exciting nights of my life. Conservatives were streaming into the Civic Centre for the 2016 local election count in buoyant mood, joshing and smiling with each other, clearly expecting the sweeping victory that would allow them to take control of the City. Within an hour or two their optimism was gone and  they were rushing about trying to calculate the scale of the loss of their support. We could see the votes mounting up on the tables in front of us and the growth of support for Labour across the City.

The fact is that Labour Councillors across Southampton had increased their levels of support due to the hard work they had put into supporting residents in their wards and the careful management of the finances of the City. Despite vicious central government cuts, services had been maintained and Southampton’s economy had got going again under Labour’s stewardship.

In Portswood we managed to sweep away the Conservatives and the Lib-Dems who have dominated the political scene for 35 years and it looks as though support for the Green Party has collapsed across the City. I’m sure there are many reasons why the support for some of the other parties has ebbed away. My feeling is that the people of Portswood have a clear understanding that they want nothing to do with a Conservative government that for the last 6 years has  completely failed to do anything to improve the economy and has attempted to spin itself out of every ill-judged situation it has found itself in. From dodgy oversees investments, tax breaks for the rich, anti-trade union legislation, misuse of research to impose contracts on Junior or Doctors and force schools to become academies. The list seems endless and now 8 police forces around the country are investigating 26 conservative MPs and their failure to declare accurate election expense details. It all seems to reveal a dodgy Tory government making their own rules up as they go along. We clearly aren’t “all in this together”.

So thank you Portswood for being so astute. I look forward to speaking face to face with as many of you as possible and listening to your views.