"I Would like to thank Katy Clark for dedicating ten years of her life to North Ayrshire and Arran in Westminister and serving the people. I would like to congratulate Patricia Gibson on her election as the new MP for this seat. I ask Patricia to represent all people of all political persuasions, always in the interests of this constituency's needs and occassionally, as Katy did, not be afraid to challenge the party whip or status quo when the needs of local people require it.
My Biggest thank you is to the 7,968 people who voted for me on May 7th. Despite a much larger turnout, we grew our vote count by 10% in this area and more or less held our share despite the extra-ordinary national swing to the SNP! Every vote counted, and no vote was wasted. For those who voted Conservative - we have a majority Conservative government in Westminster and you played a part in that. More people in Scotland voted Conservative than did so in 2010, we came second in more seats than 2010 and we are grateful and proud of that.
I was equally proud to represent the centre-right vote in North Ayrshire and Arran. I met so many people, businesses, farmers, shop owners, families, tourists and small businesses in every part of this constituency and it was an honour to do so. Many told me they had never been contacted or visited by a candidate before. It is truly a beautiful part of the world and there will always be a special place in my heart for it. We are a party for all people of all backgrounds and i hope my campaign demonstrated how a modern Scottish Conservative Party sees the world around us.
There are nearly 8,000 people here, potentially many more, who share my views on politics and i hope they are proud that they walked from the polling booth with their heads held high, having voted for the person and the party they believed in. I will always champion their views and be an advocate for this area.
As i said in my speech after the final result, the voice of the centre-right in Scotland is still very much alive and now, more than ever, will be needed to shout loudly with a pro-Union message in the coming months and years. Next year we have an election in Holyrood and with a different electoral system every single Conservative vote will help elect more Conservative MSPs in Scotland. The Scottish Conservatives will, in return, fight for you locally and nationally to ensure that Scotland does not become a one party state. I hope we can count on your continued support."
Article reprinted with thanks to the Largs and Millport Weekly News.