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Sadly it wasn't the result that we hoped for on the day. National analysis suggests that many people voted against the idea of a Labour government, and the first past the post system again left us with a dreadful choice.
It's time we had electoral reform to get a wider variety of views in parliament, and to get everyone represented in proportion to the votes.
But for now, I'd like to thank my family, and the team of volunteers who have worked so hard over the last few weeks and months across the whole constituency - I have been blown away by the enthusiasm and energy that everyone has put into the campaign.
In the last three years the country has been split thanks to a series of weak conservative prime ministers pandering to their own party's internal battles rather than putting the country first. We will see what come of this in the next few months, and I don't expect to see sunlight uplands anytime soon.
Of course, the elephant in the room is the no deal Brexit scenario we face at the end of 2020.
Sadly, I suspect that it won't be long before we are at the ballot boxes again.
But at the next election the story will be different.
The fact that we had this election anyhow, only two years since the last time, shows that our system is broken. It is high time that we changed from the antiquated first past the post system, to proportional representation. This would allow us to move away from the extremes we see today and get politics back into the great British tradition of sensible compromise.
Thank you all.
Martin.
Martin trained as an engineer and has a background in the hi-tech industry. He has served in local government for over 5 years - including a recent term as the Mayor of Dawlish.
Long an active member of the community, as a town and district councillor Martin has proved himself an outspoken champion of local and environmental causes and a worthy advocate in the fight for social justice.
Martin now wants to take this fight to Westminster: "I feel honoured to have been chosen as the local parliamentary candidate for the Teignbridge Newton Abbot constituency and look forward immensely to the challenges that lie ahead. I care deeply about the area in which I live and want to do more to help our town, village and coastal communities.
"Making headlines for all the wrong reasons, our Tory MP has long been considered out of step. With an election on December 12th, many are telling me she is also out of time. I will continue to knock on doors across the constituency to learn more about what you want from your representative at Westminster - and how I can serve you and our communities better in the future."
Stop this Brexit Mess!
What do Lib Dems Stand for?
Time for more action on climate Change
Support for the WASPI cause
Teignmouth Hustings - Martin Wrigley's opening speech
I am proud to support the People's Vote campaign, and to be recommended by the People's Vote, Devon For Europe and Best for Britain
News...
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Article: Jan 13, 2020
I want to thank you for all your hard work over the last six weeks. Everyone did everything they could in this campaign but the result has been deeply disappointing.
Despite Liberal Democrats gaining 1.2m votes and our share of the vote increasing in every region of the UK, we are now one seat down compared to 2017. Under a proportional system, we would now have 84 MPs.
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Article: Jan 13, 2020
The latest EU Settlement Scheme Statistics, published by the Home Office, show more than 140,000 EU citizens applied to live and work in the UK after Brexit in November.
These figures show 361,900 people are still waiting for a decision, with 2,592,800 applications received but only 2,230,900 concluded.
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Article: Jan 13, 2020
This news is yet more evidence that Boris Johnson's government looks set to crash our economy thanks to his disastrous Brexit plans.
Whether its putting people's livelihoods on the line in our factory sector, or increasing prices with the pound weakening in 2020, it is clear that Boris Johnson's promise to unleash Britain's potential is nothing more than empty rhetoric.
We haven't even left yet.
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Article: Jan 13, 2020
Boris Johnson's government has set out a disastrous agenda which will force through a hard Brexit, undermine our public services, destroy opportunities for our communities and cripple living standards.
Brexit will hinder our ability to safeguard our NHS and reduce our capacity to tackle the climate crisis.
The fact that radical climate action has been ignored is a hallmark of a government which is setting all the wrong priorities.
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Article: Jan 13, 2020
Voting reform is not about the electoral advantage of any party.
It is about better democracy.
As politicians we have a responsibility to ensure voters across the UK do not feel disenfranchised.
In this election the Liberal Democrats increased their vote share by 4%, more than any other party, but achieved fewer seats in Parliament.
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Article: Jan 13, 2020
Boris' bad Brexit bill is before the House of Commons today.
So what are we doing to fight the damaging and dangerous effects it will have on democratic scrutiny, workers' rights, the battle against the climate crisis, and more?
Today, we tabled an amendment to block the Withdrawal Agreement Bill because:
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Article: Jan 10, 2020
By Sir Ed Davey MP
A happy and peaceful Chanukah to all Jewish people around the world!
Chanukah is a special time of the year for so many reasons. It's about solidarity with friends and family. It's about overcoming adversity in impossible circumstances. Most importantly, it's about the power of faith and how it can make wonderful things happen.
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Article: Jan 8, 2020
Happy New Year!
Over Christmas and New Year, a team of HQ staff and almost 60 volunteer testers from across the party as well as the team at Prater Raines have been hard at work testing Lighthouse, the party's new Local Party Management tool.
The feedback from those users has been really encouraging, they've found the system really intuitive and easy to use.
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Article: Jan 6, 2020
Today I've announced my team of spokespeople in the House of Commons.
We'll speak up for the millions of people who voted for the Liberal Democrats in the general election, and the millions more who are dismayed with the actions of this Conservative government.
The team's portfolios can be found below:
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Article: Jan 3, 2020
By Ed Davey
Iran is governed by a brutal regime which has been openly hostile to the west.
Donald Trump has yet again radically and recklessly escalated tensions in an area where peace-keeping was already on a knife edge.
There is a real danger this will stoke further conflict, undermining peace and stability in the region. Given the severity of the crisis, the Prime Minister must make a statement about the UK's position immediately.
The UK should not automatically follow whatever position the Trump administration takes, but work with a broader group of concerned states at the United Nations.
"Changing Britain's Future: no one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity"
Liberal Democrat Constitution
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