Wow! Stunning result in Bromley and Chislehurst. A big boost for the party to come so close (agonisingly close!) to winning what was one of the very safest Conservative seat in the country.

For us the lesson is fairly simple – it’s a shame that Ben Abbotts didn’t quite make it, but it was a fantastic result for him and the team. Also good news for Ming Campbell – he campaigned heavily in the seat.

But for the Tories – it’s a real dilemma I think. Clearly the Cameron message is not going down well with their core support. They should have been romping home in a safe seat like Bromley. When I was campaigning there, it certainly looked like the sort of place that is very Conservative. Not any more!

Now off to a weekend meeting of the Government’s Community Development Foundation (I’m a trustee) to see how the development of community cohesion is going and can be worked on. It seems from the outside like a very New Labour approach – but will be interesting to see from the inside how it’s going and whether that’s really the case.

One part of the overall agenda is the looking at the community empowerment network. Having handed out the cheques in Haringey to various voluntary groups as part of this scheme, I have been wondering how the success or otherwise of these payments is tracked. Will be interesting to see!