Fermanagh Diana Armstrong speech
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00:00Thank you. I'd first of all like to thank the returning officer, the counting agents, and all those polling staff that worked in Fermanagh and South Jordan and many of the polling stations that I certainly did visit today as well with other candidates also doing the same.
00:21These last six weeks have undoubtedly been the busiest of my life, but they've also been the most enjoyable in the strangest of ways. I've met so many wonderful people, enjoyed the warmth of so many of our towns and villages, and have travelled countless miles up and down the constituencies, infinite back roads and farmlands.
00:46And after these last six weeks, I'm certain that we live in, by far, the most beautiful and welcoming part of Northern Ireland. I want to thank from the bottom of my heart all those people who voted for me and placed their trust in me, and I'm so incredibly grateful to them.
01:07I'd also like to thank all those people that have so generously helped me over the last number of weeks and months, my many illustrious friends and colleagues, who I won't name, but who will remain eternally, and I will remain eternally grateful for. Thank you all so much.
01:25I'd also like to thank the wider UNIS family for uniting behind me. I deeply appreciate all the support and their good wishes.
01:39Whilst at times we may differ, as UNIS we share a collective belief in our nation, and a shared recognition that the people of Northern Ireland deserve the same representation that so many others receive.
01:55I am so deeply disappointed that this constituency will be once again without a voice, with an abstentionist MP. We are the most westerly of all constituencies in the United Kingdom, and my fear is that with no champion at Westminster, we will once again become one of the most forgotten.
02:16As a community and as a constituency, people deserve so much more than their relatives. Whilst I wish Pam well and congratulate her and wish her well in the weeks and months ahead, I would appeal to her to at least try to recognise the pains that have been revisited in recent weeks.
02:35Many people have spoken to me over recent weeks, expressing the despair that in 2024 some people, running for senior elected office, could still not bring themselves to even acknowledge the wrongs and horrors of terrorist acts.
02:52Our constituency suffered, and more than many others, so whilst today they have elected a champion MP, I would appeal to that party not to overlook the views of the wider majority of the constituency that actually voted for representation.
03:09Finally, I congratulate all who took part in this election and for their efforts.
03:21I would also, before I finish, like to congratulate Tom Elliott, MLA, who is now appointed as a Peer in the House of Lords.
03:39That was one piece of news to receive, so congratulations Tom, you'll be missed.
03:48As I close, I'm going to find something I have written on the final note.
03:54I do want to dedicate this campaign to one very special person, and that is my late mother, Maureen West, who raised Pam when she was seven and was always a wonderful, wise, guidance in the background,
04:11supporting not only her husband, my father, Harry West, but also her family and guiding them on their paths through life.
04:18Congratulations again to everyone who took part, to everyone who supported me, thank you.
04:24To Pam, I say congratulations on a well-fought and hard-fought contest. Thank you very much.