Thank You!

I would like to express my appreciation to you, the people of Romsey and Southampton North who elected me as your Member of Parliament.

It is a great honour and daunting responsibility which I will do my utmost to discharge in the interests of all residents, not just the 24,165 who voted for me. I have the examples of Sir David Price, Sir David Mitchell and the late Michael Colvin as exemplary role models as previous Conservative MPs in this constituency, whose commitment I shall seek to emulate. I was especially touched that Michael Colvin's son and daughter came here to campaign for me, as did Sir David Mitchell.

I must also express my enormous gratitude to the volunteers who gave up their own time to assist with all that important groundwork as part of the campaign team.

I can imagine how Mrs Gidley may be feeling, as I recall how I felt 5 years ago when I just failed then by 125 votes. I would say she should not see this vote as a reflection on her as a hard working constituency MP and I for one have never doubted she gave 100% to the role.

Elections are, however, about political choice and close on 50% of the electors here have indicated that the Conservative Party is their preferred option to address the enormous problems the country faces.

We can all see it will not be an easy Parliament. I am however encouraged by the enormous support I have been given by volunteers in my campaign team and for the hundreds of messages of congratulation that have come flooding in from across the constituency.

I must also record my thanks for the unstinting support of my husband and daughter who through no fault of their own have to suffer from having a "political" wife and mother.

I promise to be transparent in all my dealings and to keep the voters of Romsey as informed as possible and to serve this constituency to the best of my ability.

As part of that commitment, I am currently looking to launch an enhanced website during the summer, which provides better information flow and a more open dialogue on the local and national issues which affect us all.

In the meantime, I will be going through the learning curve of finding my way around the Parliamentary procedures of Westminster so that I can best serve you, the constituents of Romsey and Southampton North.

Caroline Nokes

May 2010