May 7 is the date of my birthday and the General Election, the result of which wasn’t the present for which I’d been looking.

Liberal Democrats suffered a punishment beating on a massive scale that has almost killed a force for good in British politics.

Amazingly, within hours of the result, hundreds of people signed up as members – within days nearly 7,000 people have joined the party.

The long fight back has started.

All those who wanted to send a message to the party have achieved that aim. They have also kicked the door open for the Tories to rule without restraint.

Across the country, Labour voters and others have in the past loaned their votes to the Liberal Democrats to keep the Conservatives out.

Slamming the door in the face of the party for the sin of tuitions fees and letting the Tories in, was obviously the right thing to do? No, it wasn’t.

Enthusiasm for caning the Liberal Democrats blinded voters opposed to the Conservatives.

While the General Election result is terrible for the Liberal Democrats, many of whom voted against the tuition fees rise and still lost their seats, it is much worse for the poor and the vulnerable. This will be the bedroom tax on steroids, a Government bent on hurting the least well off.

All of the bad things the Liberal Democrats prevented the Tories from doing are now back on the agenda, from attacking employment rights and green energy to privatising the NHS. All those who didn’t vote because “the results don’t matter”, have five years to find out how wrong they were.

Good things of the last five years – better pensions, free meals for younger children, investment in schools, an £800 a year tax cut – all came from the Liberal Democrats.

Liberal Democrats provided the ideas factory for the positive side of Government. They got none of the credit, but all of the blame.

People locally and nationally are volunteering their support, appalled by the level of destruction meted out to the party. We need that help to rebuild from the bottom up.

The constituency of Thirsk and Malton has missed out on having an MP who would have fought for all of us like no other.

On a local level, Di Keal, my wife, saw the national rampage hit home – regardless of the fact she has done more for people than all the other parliamentary candidates put together.

The best candidate lost. But the biggest loser is the people of this constituency.

Howard Keal, Norton