David Green: Caithness, Sutherland and Ross acceptance speech

My thanks to the police, the returning officer and his staff for conducting the count this afternoon.

My thanks also to my fellow candidates for the good nature in which this election was contested.

In particular, I would like to give recognition to Maree Todd.

She has served Caithness, Sutherland and Ross as MSP for five years. And while there are many issues on which we disagree, I have never doubted the strength of her convictions.

To her team and her staff - I have stood alongside candidates on the wrong side of an election result, and all too often it can be forgotten that these outcomes affect you too.

I pay tribute to your hard work and, notwithstanding the results still to come, I genuinely wish you well for what comes next.

At the forefront of my mind today are not just those who are here, but also those who are not.

Charles Kennedy and the late Jim Wallace meant so much to so many.

They were my mentors. They were my friends.

They were principled, respectful of others, and dedicated above all else to serving their constituents - regardless of how they voted.

They are dearly missed, but never forgotten.

So please allow me to dedicate this result to them. And in doing so, I commit myself to an approach to politics they taught us.

Change.

Change takes more than one voice in a room or one name on a ballot paper. It takes a team.

And I am so grateful to be supported by such a talented campaign team.

To my legendary agent, Craig Harrow, who has Highland politics in his bones.

To our staff, led by Tracey and Innes, and to our many volunteers.

In particular: David, Struan, Jan, Tim, John and Connie. And to those who have been with me from the very start - Angela, Duncan and Sheila - thank you.

Of course, none of this would have been possible without friends and family - my sisters and my biggest supporters; my Mum and my Dad.

Thank you - this result is yours.

This was an election about the issues that matter.

It was about the young people in our communities who can’t afford a warm home.

About the patients stuck in hospital because there isn’t a social care package to receive them at home.

And it was about the mums-to-be in Caithness who have to travel 100-mile journeys to give birth at hospital in Inverness.

They deserve better - and I will demand better for them.

The trust placed in me, and the responsibility to represent everyone across Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, is one I take seriously.

I know too many feel forgotten. Or feel that too many decisions are imposed on them, not shaped by them.

Your voices deserve to be heard. For giving me this chance to work with you to ensure that they are, thank you.

Let me finish with this.

Today, the Scottish Liberal Democrats have turned a page. This is a new chapter for our movement.

In the Highlands and right across Scotland, the flame of liberalism burns bright and it is needed more than ever.

We are not here just to make up the numbers.

We are here to get things done - and that is exactly what we will do.

Thank you.