The Assembly election is over, and the Cardiff North constituency, for the first time, has a Liberal Democrat representative in the Welsh Assembly, after the election of our first AM on the South Wales Central regional list.
There can be no disguising the fact that within Cardiff North, the result for the Liberal Democrats was a disappointing one. The national position of the party made it a tough contest - and we were hampered for other reasons too.
However - I have learned a lot from the contest, and though I do intend to stand for the Assembly again in the future, I'm sure you'll agree that five years is a long time - so I will make a concrete decision closer to the time of the next Assembly Election in 2016 as to whether I wish to contest the seat again.
I'd like to take the opportunity to thank a few people. The people who voted for me, the people who I spoke to on the campaign trail who were always positive and welcoming towards me regardless of how they planned to vote, my agent, our local Lib Dem councillors in Cardiff North who I will continue to work alongside, and my friends and family for the moral support they gave me during the campaign.
And last but certainly not least, my opponents, Ben Foday, Jonathan Morgan and Julie Morgan, who were always welcoming, accommodating, and whilst our encounters on the campaign trail were interesting and thought provoking, they were never heated or bitter.
I won't be updating the site for a while now, but if you need to get in contact with me, please feel free to get in touch via the Contact Me page.
Best wishes,
Matt
