Not sure why I am still up after more than 25 hours.  Could be the small nap I got last night, or possibly the buckets of strong coffee I got through at the count.  My money is on the caffeine.  Conflicting emotions: very glad it is all over although I really did enjoy the campaign.

Obviously there are things I would have done differently if I had my time again, but that is to be expected.  If you can’t learn from experience there is little point in having it.  Lesson #1 has to be don’t bother turning up at the count before 2am.  It was 6:20 before I got away from Christ’s Hospital.

In terms of votes the outcome was disappointing but not surprising.  With the general anti-government feeling and the understandable temptation to vote tactically in Horsham we were braced for fewer votes and a lower share than before, but suceeded in some of our other ambitions.

We made some good contacts, and had some membership enquiries.  Finishing the campaign with more members than we started was a target, and getting more attention for our campaigns on affordable housing and council play schemes was another, and I hope we can now get more progress on those two issues.  I know Horsham’s Chair will not let those go.

And now perhaps I should think about having a look at what happened elsewhere – or maybe I should get a few hours sleep before attempting that.  I do know about the result in Crawley and I’m really sorry for Chris Oxlade and his dedicated team.  They will be feeling terrible right now, but I’m sure they will bounce back.