Last night's results show that Hounslow voted marginally to remain and I believe the Remain vote was stronger in Brentford & Isleworth. Nevertheless, the national vote was to leave the EU and we have to live and work with that overall result.
I would like to thank everyone who put in time, and shoe leather, to help the Remain campaign. I have no doubt it made a difference here.
But the national result spells a difficult time for the country.
I am afraid there will be long-term economic, political and social consequences. Those most likely to suffer will be those who have not shared in what economic recovery we have had, and also those who depend on public services. We have to acknowledge people's concerns about immigration, which is broadly shared by people from many communities. We need to be unified in our determination to mitigate the impact of leaving the EU on those likely to be hardest hit. The economic consequences will be devastating and even though we are in a relatively prosperous part of the UK, many could be deeply affected. This result has also opened up deep fractures in our society - so we have to do what we can to heal those fractures.
Thank you for the emails I've received so far. We have work to do here. I look forward to suggestions for a constructive way forward.