Youngest MP Ever Wyatt Roy Concedes Defeat Via FB, Signs Off With Emoji

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Published

July 8, 2016

Federal MP Wyatt Roy has conceded defeat in the election for the Queensland seat of Longman, ending his parliamentary career at a younger age than many start theirs.

In an incredibly gracious Facebook post, the 26-year-old Liberal Assistant Minister for Innovation said “though my heart is heavy for my incredible staff and our amazing army of dedicated volunteers, I am so proud of everything we achieved together for our community and country and I’m looking forward to the next exciting chapter of life.”

The concession means Labor’s Susan Lamb will gain the seat which Roy has held for the past six years.

With 80% of the votes counted. Via ABC.

In parliament, he was an advocate for mental health resources in his electorate, and was pretty heavily involved in the Coalition government’s push for investing in Aussie entrepreneurial development.

Roy supported a free vote on same-sex marriage. His absence in the House moving forward might make it a little more likely the government’s proposed plebiscite on the matter comes to fruition this year.

Oh, he also managed to feature in Malcolm Turnbull’s first Snap / possibly cajoled the PM into downloading it in the first place.

Read the full statement below, and marvel at the fact that a guy under 30 has indeed spent a fifth of his life in public office:

“While we will likely win more first preference votes than any other candidate, after a lot of careful counting and the distribution of preferences it looks as if we will fall short of the numbers required to win Longman.

There is a saying that almost all political careers end in tears. Well for me, this is not true. Though my heart is heavy for my incredible staff and our amazing army of dedicated volunteers, I am so proud of everything we achieved together for our community and country and I’m looking forward to the next exciting chapter of life.

We have left our community better than when we began six years ago. Our region has seen strong employment growth, better infrastructure and improvements in vital services, particularly mental health.

At the age of 26, I have had the honour of serving 1 in 5 days on Earth as a Member of the Federal Parliament.

As the Assistant Minister for Innovation, I have been part of an exciting new conversation for our country. If we embrace innovation and entrepreneurship, we will ensure that our nation transitions from the lucky country to one prepared to make its own luck by seizing the opportunities of a changing world.

I would like to congratulate my successor. I wish her the best in representing an amazing community in the federal parliament.

I want to thank Prime Minister Turnbull for his trust in me and I wish him and the Government well as they lead our great nation to an even stronger and brighter future.

I also wish to thank the Liberal National Party for the opportunity to stand up in the parliament for our defining principles of freedom, enterprise and equality of opportunity.

Finally I want to thank my family, friends and loved ones who have sacrificed so much over the past six years. I can’t wait to see a lot more of them … and to spend more time just being 26 :)”