I am delighted to be returning to Westminster, however I feel a deep sense of loss that I will no longer be supported by any other Scottish Labour colleagues, while many seats in England have also lost their Labour representation.
The saddest indictment of this general election campaign is the delivery of a Conservative majority government with the worst Prime Minister this country has ever seen. That’s the legacy.
We’re not just letting down the Labour Party , we’re letting down millions of people across the UK by our failure to have a credible opposition, let alone a credible alternative government.
We are now facing the prospect of a hard Brexit, which will hurt the poorest the hardest – the very communities which Labour exists to represent. Every job lost will be at the door of No.10.
Jeremy Corbyn came up negatively in the vast majority of conversations I had with voters on the doorsteps during this campaign . I know it was the same for every candidate in our party across every part of the country. Voters did not see Mr Corbyn as a viable Prime Minister. He was nothing short of toxic.
Having led the Labour Party to two successive defeats, the public have given their judgement on his leadership. Ultimately, this catastrophic failure is his responsibility.
But others around him also have to take responsibility too.
For the sake of the Labour movement, but more importantly for the sake of the country, we need not just a new leader but a new direction as well.
We need a new team who understand the changes we’ve got to make, because Labour simply cannot continue letting down the people we’re supposed to be in politics to serve.
The Labour Party and every Labour member and supporter should remember how they felt on Friday morning, must listen and respond, or it will never have the opportunity of power to transform our country.
