Thank you

So the day is finally here. Months of leaflet drops, phone banks, Voter ID, street stalls and campaigning, campaigning, campaigning is finally over (until we start again for the General next  year – sorry!). Our country goes to the polls tomorrow to elect our MEPs and councillors up and down the country.

Today will be a long day for all of us. (A quick reminder – in all the excitement of campaigning, don’t forget to vote yourself – it sounds daft, but it has been known.). Before you head off for your first knock up, just know this: I think you’re brilliant.

Thank you to all our volunteers for their incredible hard work. Our ground war remains our biggest weapon in this fight and you have not let the side down. The 157,000 contacts made last weekend is extraordinary. But so is the time and effort every one of you puts in week after week. Thank you.

Thank you too to the incredible candidates who will be elected to represent Labour values in Europe and locally. The exhaustion you feel now will be as nothing when the returning officer calls your name. Serving your communities as a councillor or as an MEP is an honour, but it is also incredibly hard work. Thank you.

And to those of you who don’t quite make it, thank you too. Thank you for fighting – sometimes in seats you know we can’t win – and proving there are no no-go areas for Labour. For ensuring that everyone who shares our values has a candidate to vote for. It’s an incredibly tough and selfless thing to do. But a vital one. And one day, that work you have put in will pay off. Until then, thank you.

Thank you too to our incredibly hard working Labour Party staff. I know I have sometimes criticised the campaign’s direction, but I have never questioned your determination and the sheer graft that each and every one of you puts in far above and beyond what could reasonably be expected. You do an incredibly hard job incredibly well. I don’t say it often enough: Thank you.

The Labour Party is a family. We may squabble occasionally, but we also have unity at our core. It is days like today that we remember why. Because there are far bigger things that unite us than those that divide us. That ultimately, what matters is ensuring Labour values can be enacted to enhance people’s circumstances and lives in every part of the country (and from Brussels).

So a final thank you to everyone who votes Labour today. We really appreciate it. We understand the value of that vote and the obligation it places on us to deliver for you. We will always try to do so. Thank you for entrusting us to do so.

We don’t know what the outcome will be tomorrow other than sore feet and tired backs. The post mortems can wait until we’re – well – post. Until then, have a great day everyone.

Oh and one last thing:

VOTE LABOUR. THANK YOU.