2001 General Election Declarations

The transcript details the election results for the Bright Side constituency held on June 7, 2001. David Blunkett of the Labour Party was declared the winner with 19,650 votes. Other candidates included Alice Firth of the Liberal Democrats, Robert Morris of the Socialist Labour Party, Marc Suita of the UK Independence Party, Bryan Wilson of the Socialist Alliance, and Matthew Wilson of the Conservative Party. Following the announcement, David Blunkett delivered a speech expressing gratitude to the workers and people of Brightside for his re-election and lamented the low voter turnout.

What was the total number of votes recorded for the Liberal Democrat candidate?

What did the speaker express sadness about regarding the election turnout?