For me, election night was a strange mix of emotions.

As the result for Hove and Portslade came at 7.30am, I arrived at the count fully aware of the exit poll and the wipeout that had occurred across the South East of England, Scotland, and too many other parts of our country.

When I found out I’d won my initial reaction was simple relief.

I hadn’t let down the people who’d counted on my victory or had poured their heart, soul, and energy into the campaign.

For the rest of the day the emotions of people I spoke to were extreme.

Everyone was in tears!

Family, friends and supporters were a crumpled mess of teary joy, while colleagues in other parts of the city, region and country were a sea of bewildered devastation.

Labour let down a lot of people in this election and nowhere more so than in the South East of England.

I want to take this opportunity, once again, to apologise to the thousands who volunteered or stood as candidates but whose astonishing efforts were swept aside by the overwhelming sense that Labour simply wasn’t a credible government-in-waiting.

Our party asked volunteers to have four million conversations with voters and they did.

But as anyone who has sat next to the wrong person at a dinner party knows, the process of talking doesn’t add up to a meaningful conversation unless you’re saying the right things. Listening is often the key to a good conversation too.

So the art of listening and responding to what you’ve heard, rather than simply what you want to talk about, are two lessons Labour needs to learn.

There is nothing inevitable about victory or defeat.

After all, the Tory vote in Hove and Portslade went up, not down, and my team knew from the outset that we really had our work cut out.

Something I’ll never forget was the day after the election as I was walking along Church Road.

A taxi noisily screeched to a halt and without even pulling to the curb out scrambled both the driver and passenger who ran over and flung their arms around me and started jumping up and down.

It showed to me that people in Hove and Portslade did something unique by choosing Labour and everyone knew it.

The reason has to go further than people living here being universally wonderful (which, of course, they are).

A starting point for me is something that anyone who has visited my office can’t ignore.

In huge writing I have written on the wall: “The most dangerous phrase in the English Language is ‘we’ve always done it this way”.

It’s a quote from Grace Hopper who was born in 1908 and went on to become Vice-Admiral of the US Navy, so it’s safe to presume she knew a few things about dangerous phrases.

So my job as the leader of our local campaign was to make sure we did things differently.

I know it sounds obvious but doing things differently needs to feel different too, and that means many of my battles weren’t only against the Tories, they were sometimes with my own party.

I chose those battles based on what residents told me were their priorities because listening was at the heart of my campaign.

I think this approach created a bond with residents that Labour failed to achieve nationally.

I was always on their side, but never disloyal to my party, and I believe the two are compatible.

This is how I campaigned and now I have been elected, it is how I will represent.

I’m watching the present leadership hopefuls closely to see who best represents the lessons of my campaign and will return Labour to being a party that owns the future again.

It could well be a fresh face as well as a fresh approach that is needed.

Inequality in our health and educational services are as rife as in our economy.

Our role as an active partner in the world is under threat, human rights and equality legislation is being attacked.

A strong, forward-looking Labour Party that celebrates people who are working towards a better life for themselves and their children, and serves those who need help to achieve the same, is what I am working towards.

Thanks to the people of Hove and Portslade I can fight for these values within parliament and the Labour Party to ensure your voice is heard loud and clear by both.

Peter Kyle is Labour MP for Hove and Portslade