Ben Bradley thanks town for its support as he signs off as Mansfield's MP

During this time, Parliament is dissolved and there are no MPs.

I will become the Conservative candidate for Mansfield and seek your support to continue as your MP after December 12.

As this is my last column (I hope not forever but it could be) I want to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has helped and supported not just me, but this town and district over the last two-and-a-half years.

It’s been a great privilege and source of pride for me to be elected and to represent this incredible part of the country, and many of you have worked hard alongside me to try and improve things.

I’ve met so many constituents who are running local community groups and supporting good causes, volunteering, promoting the town and seeking to make Mansfield great.

It’s been a joy to know those people and to work with them over the course of this Parliament.

I sought to find those who were positive and proactive, and who genuinely graft to try and make things better, and there are so many people like that here that I cannot even begin to list them.

Thank you for all of your hard work and endeavour, and for your support for what I have been trying to achieve too.

We’ve had some great success, not least the £25 million Town Deal that has the potential to be a catalyst for great change in this area.

I need to thank my excellent staff, who have done so much during this time and we’ve helped and supported thousands of constituents with their individual cases.

Being able to help people like that is by far the most rewarding part of our jobs in the MP’s office.

Though we can’t always wave a magic wand, we always try our hardest, and I couldn’t do any of it without their support.

Finally, a big thank you to everyone out there who has engaged with us and with what we’ve been trying to do.

Thank you all, and see you on the other side.