AS you might imagine, I was pretty despondent early last Friday Morning – only 903 votes and witnessing the might of the Tory machine in the counting room. Those who love me have been very kind, but the only name of the game was winning and I really wanted to be MP for Bournemouth East.

Then I saw the complaint that with four million votes, UKIP only got one MP. Hold on, 903 x 650 = a 587,000 National Vote. On a proportional basis my two per cent would give independents 13 MPs.

It is wrong to characterise people like me as ‘fringe candidates’. Independents represent a legitimate slice of the population who should be heard.

Perhaps Bournemouth Independent Alliance did not do too badly from a cold start a few months ago, with no outside sponsorship?

We knew this was only a start. Our job is to provide Independents with the professional backup you get for free when you ‘sign on’ as a candidate with established parties.

In the coming months we will be strengthening our organisation and inviting others to join us 51 out 54 Bournemouth Councillors are now Conservative and that is worryingly undemocratic. We have a job to do.

David Ross

Bournemouth Independent Alliance

Wood Row, Throop Road, Bournemouth