"A very disappointing set of election results for the Conservative Party last night. The poor national performance by the Conservative Party was unsurprisingly reflected here in Ipswich.
"Three years ago the people of Ipswich voted decisively to leave the EU and the local results last night make it clear that if there were to be another referendum here and the result would be the same. I hope this is something the local Labour MP bears in mind the next time he contemplates voting to revoke article 50 and block Brexit in Parliament.
"I've seen a fair bit of speculation since my selection that perhaps Ipswich is no longer a Town where the majority want to leave the EU. And that a significant number of people have changed their mind. The hugely impressive showing by the Brexit Party makes it crystal clear that this is not the case. In fact, I suspect that if there were another referendum the majority for leave in Ipswich would actually be greater than it was last time.
"Many who voted leave in 2016 decided to vote for the Brexit Party. Some of these voters had been lifelong Conservative voters. However the sad thing is that I know a number of voters in Ipswich who voted leave in 2016 who didn't bother voting at all in these elections. Such is their sense of despondency and dejection at the fact that we three years after the referendum result, we remain in the EU.
"The reality is that the Conservative Party have lost the confidence of a significant number of leave voters. These election results are a strong message and its one we need to take on board fully as a Party. We do of course now have an opportunity in selecting a new Party leader and Prime Minister to ensure we get someone who will ensure our departure from the EU by the end of October. Last night's results demonstrate clearly what the consequences of not doing so will be for the Conservative Party.
"Shortly I plan to run an online poll so I can get a sense of what people in Ipswich think about the Conservative leadership contest and who people think would be best to be the next Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister."
