I spent much of June and July supporting Faye Purbrick as the candidate for the Somerton & Frome by-election. I grew up here and it was important to campaign in the seat that I called home. Over the short campaign, I knocked on hundreds of doors, spoke to countless residents and visited every area of the constituency, from Rode to Frome, Beckington to Wincanton and Sutton Morris to Castle Cary.
The message on the doorstep was clear, voters want to see affordable homes with infrastructure, jobs for young people, strong borders and support for farmers. On polling day, I was out from 8am to 9pm and was knocking on doors till dusk. The result is disappointing but I am sure we will bounce back at the next opportunity and I will certainly be campaigning to make it so.
