Following his re-election as the MP for Rushcliffe, Ken has the following message to his supporters and all residents of Rushcliffe:

“I would like to give my heartfelt personal thanks to all those who helped in the Conservative campaign in the recent General Election.  It was an extraordinary campaign with a bizarre and disastrous result nationally.  It was certainly a first for everyone in Rushcliffe to have the candidate vanish in the middle of the campaign to have a heart operation but everyone coped magnificently, despite my unexpected infirmity.

We continue to increase our share of the vote and my majority only fell because of the collapse in the small Party votes, with the major shift to the Labour vote.  This happened in many similar constituencies across the country. 

I am now beginning to face up to the extraordinary problems of enabling a Conservative Government to deliver worthwhile outcomes on Brexit, the economy and the public services on a miniscule potential majority in Parliament.  I do appreciate the great honour that people do me by returning me as their representative.  I hope that I can make a useful contribution on behalf of all my friends and constituents in the Division.

I am tempted to try to write a longer piece on the political outlook, but we are still at the stage where events are unfolding hour by hour here in Westminster. 

I thought that Parliament had no new experiences to offer to me.  Taking the chair as Father of the House after processing with Black Rod to receive my instructions from the Royal Commissioners was, however, a quite remarkable first for me!”