I send my personal thanks to all voters and our Focus Team loyal colleagues and helpers in Higham Hill, who did their utmost to elect all year-round hard-working family case-workers, in the Local Election on May 22. It was a very long day that started at 5am  and with only a few minutes break, as all our voters were `knocked-up' until 10pm.

The loss of all serving Liberal Democrat councillors in London Borough of Waltham Forest is a sad day for all previous high standards of local democracy and important year on year council scrutiny work that had been undertaken by Cllr Bob Sullivan Leyton, over 34 years, since 1981, when he had become the very first Liberal Councillor, in a Labour facing Ward.

Cllr Bob Sullivan has been a peerless democrat community servant to local residents, as have all L/Ds who lost their seats, as all were swept away in an undeserved tidal wave of Labour votes, across London Boroughs,except Sutton.

Local voters were angry with the patriotic national interest `Coalition Government' from 2010, with the Tories, rather than give support purely on our high Focus local work rate : and even the two massive local funding wins in the `Pupil Premium' for our local schools and the abolition of personal tax on the first £10K earnings, were forgotten in the ballot box.

I offer personal gratitude to Bob Wheatley, who financed a brilliant Walthamstow Liberal Democrat Local election campaign.It all fully deserved to have been rewarded with a new slate of elected Liberal Democrat Councillors.

The Liberal Democrats Focus campaign was motivated by years of community good-will and achieving hundreds of weekly case-works completed on behalf of residents by our Focus Team Ward Surgeries,over decades.

I express and share group and my own personal disappointment in not being elected as L/D Focus Cllr in Higham Hill ward to follow up our campaign work on road safety,school standards,crime-prevention in the light of home break-ins : and was looking forward to completing hundreds of family case-works for many new families after years of continuous team resident surveys that won many hearts and minds.

My greatest fear is in the loss of all Liberal Democrat councillors in one election now means that the council will not have the Liberal Democrat councillor scrutiny radar working on behalf of fairness and equality in public accountability.

Patrick Smith, Higham Hill Liberal Democrats