Nationals WA stalwart Terry Redman gracious in defeat as he falls victim to Labor landslide in shock result

In one of the most stunning stories of this year’s State election, Terry Redman — the longest serving Nationals MP in WA — has conceded defeat in his seat of Warren-Blackwood. Mr Redman was first elected to Parliament in 2005, winning three subsequent elections, serving as a leader of his party and enjoying broad support in what was seen as a very safe Nationals seat heading into Saturday’s election. But the Denmark man admitted his successful run had come to an abrupt end yesterday as Labor candidate Jane Kelsbie managed a 14 per cent swing, to hand the seat to the all-conquering party led by Mark McGowan. Ms Kelsbie, the chief executive of not-for-profit training organisation Worklink WA, also hails from Denmark. Mr Redman said he called Ms Kelsbie yesterday afternoon to offer his congratulations on winning a hard-fought contest. “I said ‘congratulations, you’re going to be the next member for Warren-Blackwood and I’m sure you’ll work hard and do it justice’,” he said. Mr Redman said that while the dramatic swing towards Labor was surprising, he respected the “will of the people”. “I don’t think any of us in WA thought there would be a swing of such scale across the board,” he said. “I’ve never been concerned about the Labor vote in my electorate but this was the absolute exception. “I want to thank my wife. Marie has been 100 per cent supportive throughout my time in Parliament, she’s taken massive career and social concessions as a product of me being there. “It’s been a fantastic privilege to be elected by my community and to be a Member of Parliament. “I’m very, very proud of what we were able to achieve as a party particularly with the Royalties for Regions program in regional WA.” Mr Redman said he had complete faith in the National Party’s ability to deliver strong results for WA going forward, but he was not sure what the future held for him personally. “I don’t quite know my next steps,” he said. “It’s a little bit bittersweet in some sense. You don’t like to lose an election but the sweet side is that you probably get a bit of a life back. “It’s been a fantastic ride, a massive privilege and I have absolutely no regrets with the path I’ve taken.”