Results day. There were no council elections in Dorset, both councils being new unitaries. The polls had been pretty consistent in predicting we'd lose seats, and we did, nearly 500 of them. A raft of reasons were given by all political Parties and commentators, and 'partygate' was one of them. Personally, I think it was more the cost of living shock to millions of households who are seeing a huge spike in prices and are understandably very concerned. Yes, we're at the half way point in a parliamentary cycle and that's always a bad time for the Party in power, and this is where I'd like to see and hear a lot more Conservatism. The Queen's Speech on Tuesday next week will be an opportunity for the Prime Minister to do just that and I will be watching and listening very carefully. The results in other parts of the country were not reassuring, either. In Scotland, the SNP finished as the biggest party in the Scottish council elections - with Labour finishing second after the Conservatives suffered big losses. In Wales we lost seats, including our last remaining council, Monmouthshire, with Labour now the biggest party there. And in N Ireland, Sinn Fein was on course for a historic victory in the Northern Ireland Assembly election, after receiving the most first-preference votes. I mentioned 'partygate', but so-called 'beergate' is now on the political radar, with Durham police investigating whether Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer broke lockdown rules on a visit during which he drank beer in an MP's office. First thing, I attended one the regular virtual meetings we MPs in Dorset have with Dorset Council. These updates have proved immensely helpful and have done wonders for communication.