The UK has just emerged from one of the tensest and closest election campaigns in living memory. I am writing this on the morning after - May 7th 2010 - and we are still unclear as to which party (or parties?) will form the next government. In this constituency, however, the voters offered some clarity. My majority increased numerically. But, critics would say, my constituency also increased in size.  The fact is that my share of the vote remained the same, but that more people cast votes for all the other candidates. This is humbling thought that I will not ignore. The job of any MP is to be there for ALL the people, whatever their politics. I pledge now to work hard for everyone.

The votes cast on May 6th 2010 were as follows:

 

Ian Liddell-Grainger	Conservative	24,675	45.3	-0.1
Theo Butt Philip	Liberal Democrat	15,426	28.3	+5.7
Kathryn Pearce	Labour	9,332	17.1	-8.5
Peter Hollings	UKIndependence Party	2,604	4.8	+1.1
Donna Treanor	British National Party	1,282	2.4	+2.4
Charles Graham	Green	859	1.6	-1.2
Bob Cudlipp	Independent	315	0.6	+0.6
Majority		9,249	17.0
Turnout		54,493	71.2	+7.2

here are the statistics for 2005:

Ian Liddell-Grainger, Conservative (21,240 votes - 44.1%)

Matthew Burchell, Labour (12,771 votes - 26.5%)

James Main, Liberal Democrat (10,940 - 22.7%)

Ray Weinstein, UKIP (1767 - 3.7%)

Charlie Graham, Green (1391 -2.9%)

The majority was 8469 on a healthy turnout of 63.9%

On 1st May 2001 the results were:

Ian Liddell-Grainger, Conservative (19,354 votes - 40.5%)

Ian Thorn, Liberal Democrat (14,367 votes - 30%)

William Monteith, Labour (12,803 votes - 26.8%)

Vicky Gardner, UK Independence Party (1,323 votes - 2.8%)

A somewhat slimmer 4,987 majority.
The turnout in 2001 was 64.6% (national average 59.1%)

In the 1997 general election,  Tom King ( now Lord King ) won with 20,174 votes (36.9%)

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In order to vote you need to be listed in the "electoral register" compiled by the two local authorities in this constituency.  If you are not on the list the process is really quite simple. You fill in one or other of these official forms. You can do this on your computer, or you can download the document, print it out and handwrite it later. In any event the local authorities insist on a real signature, so you will have to return the form by post eventually. The sooner you apply the sooner you get the right to cast your vote for any candidate in any election: local, Westminster and Europe.

• REGISTRATION_FORM_FOR_SEDGEMOOR.pdf
• REGISTRATION_FORM_FOR_WEST_SOMERSET.pdf

You might also like to have a look at what the Electoral Commission does. It is a special body established to ensure that all elections are fair and that the process of voting is made as easy and attractive as possible. The Commssion also decides how much money poliutical parties are allowed to spend.

• http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/