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The way forward Date: 25/05/2010 Political analysts will no doubt be telling us all how the result of the election is going to effect Darlington. During the campaign it was clearly seen how the candidates and their campaign teams were going to conduct their campaigns . Labour played their "local girl , local councillor " card consistently which we believe had an effect on the electorate however here was little in the way of policy presentation either verbally or in literature.The clear impression was on the policy front there was very little to say in any case. Nevertheless Labour conducted a fair and proper campaign Lib Dems decided Labour was not the enemy and targeted the Conservatives siding with Labour on many issues during their campaign. Statements were issued on local matters which at times were simply wrong however the intent to deceive the electorate had some effect in an increase in votes cast. Their campaign however unlike Labour was at times questionable to say the least     So there is a change in Government , Conservatives became the party with the largest number of seats ,not enough however to form a majority government. Labour came second with a considerable reduction in seats and the Lib Dems third with a reduction in seats.  As the only way to make changes in government is to be in power,the quest for power became the overriding objective of all three parties. This of course became particularly attractive to the Lib Dems as their only hope of securing any form of power was to horse trade with the two major parties to secure a supporting role and obtain some benefits. They finally did the deal with Conservatives. So how is all of this going to affect Darlington , well there is in May 2011 local council elections with Labour currently holding power. This may all change if the electorate see National Government delivering what the majority expects. The national alliance may become not only popular but the preferred way of Government and how will that influence the local parties. It will not be a time for head in the sand. National Government have already indicated a 7% reduction in income to Local Authorities and this is more than Town hall officers will have budgeted for. There will be some difficult choices to be made during 2010 and again this may influence the electorates views next May. David Cameron kept reciting " We are all in this together " probably the most significant political message for decades.