Thank you, Tooting!

Thank you

Whether or not you voted for me last Thursday, I wanted to firstly thank you for getting involved in the General Election and engaging with me on the future for our area. At a time where apathy in politics is prevalent, we should all be proud that turnout in Tooting rose to 70% at this election. I’d also like to congratulate Sadiq Khan and my fellow candidates for their part in a very active campaign in Tooting.

Although I’m disappointed to have lost, it was a close result (especially as London swung towards Labour, unlike the rest of the UK) and an honour to receive well over 22,000 votes in support of my community campaigns. Thanks to all the residents who have worked alongside me on those projects.

Lots of people have asked what’s next for me. Well, I’ll be returning to my business in Earlsfield, which I founded 10 years ago and run ever since, as well as spending more time with my family.

But I’ll also be continuing my community work in Tooting, to build on the great things we achieved by working together. We successfully campaigned to save valued community spaces, The Wheatsheaf pub, The Trafalgar Arms, the Romany Scout Site, Wandsworth Common and Trinity Fields. We ran the ‘Love your Local’ shops competition to support our high streets, volunteered in the community and helped young people develop skills and gain jobs.

As I said at the count, I’m still totally committed to Tooting, and will continue to work with you and the community to build on these successes to make our area an even better place to live. If you are interested in getting involved with these community projects, do let me know as I’m always pleased to work with people (regardless of their politics). The more people that get involved, the more we can achieve.

With best wishes

Dan Watkins