Yes I did need a big hug. Especially as my pile of votes was so close in height to the ultimate winner's pile in all the boxes (80-90%), and I was elated as I arrived in the hall to see that.

I guess the postal vote was one possible reason for the difference. I'll check out the split between postal vote and ballot when I get five minutes.

9138 vs 3363 given as our relative scores.

https://englandcalling.co.uk/blog/2024/05/thoughts-about-yesterday

West Mercia also needs a big hug having to endure four more years of the incumbent.

Hi Henry,

I live on the edge of Birmingham (Lickey Hills) and when I saw PCC voting was taking place today I wondered whether there was much point.

But I thought I’d at least bother to review the candidates to see if there was much choice.

I immediately found the https://choosemypcc.org.uk/ website – very clear and well laid out and with a PDF download with statements from each candidate.

John Campion’s statement was just the classic ‘same old’ drivel from the Conservatives. Just a copy/paste job. Conventional, nothing new.

So I was delighted to come across your profile, discover ‘English Democrats’, find your website https://www.englandcalling.co.uk/ and with it, plenty of videos that show what you are all about.

Very refreshing and positive. Out with woke, ineffective, DEI, politically correct policing. In with proper policing, catching criminals, stopping knife crime.

Great job. Regardless of how you do in this election, I salute your efforts and communication and wish you all the best.

For the GE I’m likely to be a Reform voter and I’m not sure if ‘TED’ will operate on that level – but I’ll certainly look out for you in the future.

Thank you for standing and thank you for giving me a genuine option I felt good about voting for.

Many thanks

David