It's tough getting back on the horse, but we wil

I haven’t actually got out of bed yet, there is that sort of numb post election feeling you get when you have worked like hell and lost and are not quite sure what to do next. The housework doesn’t hold any great appeal, most non political friends have no idea why you are so down about things, and political allies are moping around doing the same as me.

Done the email thank you and ‘don’t give up’ bit – but it’s hard , even for an allegedly tough skinned, hardnosed street fighter like me, to get back up again after yet another bashing.

And what  a bashing it was – beyond what any of us could have expected.  It not only knocked us back years but, if it is any consolation, did the same to the Tories and perhaps more unexpectedly, Plaid.  Wales has gone back to its red roots, and who knows what damage that will cause.  But that is democracy for you.

I am no less deflated than anyone else .  In common with colleagues across Wales we in Rhondda Cynon Taff have worked damned hard, not just in recent weeks but in the case of some of us for years.  We did not deserve what happened, and it is no consolation at all knowing there is nothing any of us could have done about it.  Whatever we did on the doorstep, however many leaflets we delivered, it would not have been enough.

My biggest worry locally and nationally is that people will become disillusioned by this setback and fall by the wayside.  I can understand why some would want to just say forget it – part of me wishes I could, but there is a stubborn streak a mile wide which means I have just been putting together stats and looking at an application process to make Pontypridd a strategic seat.

There will no doubt be much discussion at all levels about the whys and wherefores in coming weeks. That discussion needs to be full and frank – but not held in haste or anger and not via the media.  We need to regroup and carry on the fight,  Teamwork is vital, and we need to build on that and also on the friendships and family feel that makes the Welsh Liberal Democrats unique.

I’ll get back on the horse, maybe a gentle walk for a few weeks rather than a gallop, but that stubborn streak won’t go away.