Thank You

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people of Foyle for returning me as your MP. I am delighted to have received a new mandate as the MP for this city.

I am proud to be elected as an SDLP MP. I also have every intention of continuing to serve all of the people of Derry as a cross-community MP.

After this result, I have returned to work today with my office staff - working on the issues that affect and interest the people of this city.

This successful result in Foyle is down to excellent teamwork by an excellent campaign team. We ran our campaign as a tight fight – that is how we will always respect the people of Derry – we take nothing or no-one for granted.

I received very clear messages on the doorsteps that people were worried about jobs and the economy, disappointed at parties messing over education, angry at cuts already hitting our frontline services and anxious about more severe cuts to come. There is real work to be done.

People are less than impressed about what the Assembly is doing to improve performance and productivity. That is a clear message that we can all take out of this election. As the newly-elected MP for Foyle I will be doing all that I can to address those issues.

Finally, I would like to thank my wife and family. All of us in public life need to recognise the huge contribution that our families make. It is therefore important to remember not only their love, but also their support for our ideals and the causes we are fighting for. I would like to celebrate that today.