Elwyn: no shame

DEJECTED . . . Elwyn Watkins can’t hide his disappointment in discussion with Lib-Dem MP Tim Farron

ELWYN Watkins said that he had stood up for what he believed in after failing to win the historic by-election that he triggered.

And he is yet to decide if he will continue to live in Delph which he described as a fantasy village.

Mr Watkins saw the Liberal Democrat poll fall by nearly 3,000 from the General Election which he lost by just 103 votes.

Swamped by media he said: “I always said that if you stand up for what’s right in a democracy there’s no shame in losing.

“I fought this not because I necessarily wanted to win, but because what happened last May was dreadful.

“We fought hard. Our vote share has actually gone up but it was not enough to catch up with Labour.”

He added: “I took the legal challenge up because I always said I would rather fight and lose than walk away and I was vindicated. I never expected to win that.”

Asked if the Coalition Government’s austerity measurers had hit the Lib Dem vote, he said it was very easy for the opposition to oppose “everything nasty”.

“We are in a very difficult financial situation with the economy. We inherited an economy which is bust. We have actually got to sort out this mess and it involves some very unpopular things,” he explained.

“We are making some very tough decisions. I make no apologies for that.”

He conceded that voters had sent a message that spending cuts were unpopular but added: “That’s not a surprise. When we get the economy sorted out, when we get growth, when we get people back in jobs, I think the reaction will be different.”

Commenting on the BNP, Mr Watkins said: “They were absolutely trounced tonight. I think that is a credit to the people of Oldham East and Saddleworth who do not want the politics of hatred.”

But he has not decided if he will continue to live in Delph and added: “I love Delph. I call it the fantasy village. I love the whole area, the hills.

“I shall obviously be sitting down and having a think about what’s going to happen in the future.”

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