IF he was listening to political commentators and polling before the election, WA Labor leader Mark McGowan knew defeat was coming but he handled the loss with optimism and grace.
The Opposition leader conceded defeat on Saturday night just three hours after polling closed in the state election.
In his speech, Mr McGowan said he was proud of the values that were reflected in the party's policies, which aimed to support West Australians in the regions as well as in the metropolitan suburbs.
"I think we did a good job," he said.
"We went out there and we were bold in what we stood for.
"I know that we need to provide those basic core services, those basic facilities where people live in an expanding, growing state like Western Australia, and that was the vision we took to the election.
"That was what we wanted to make sure people understood that we stood for and that we strived to achieve in the course of this campaign.
"All of those ideas are ideas that we will pursue into the future."
Labor had been courageous in putting out its ideas, he said.
"You may have heard of one of them, Metronet," he said, drawing laughter from the crowd.
"I'm proud of that plan."
WA Labor's election campaign revolved around Metronet but it was seen as an ambitious proposal and competed with the Liberal party's more piecemeal transport plans.
Mr McGowan said the premier was gracious during their "chat" on the phone.
It was a hard fought campaign and hard to win, but they did their best and WA Labor would come back stronger, he said.
Mr McGowan thanked his family for their support and joked that his daughter Amelia, who was already in bed, had been a star in the campaign and would be premier one day.
"She will be the first premier of Western Australia in ponytails I'm sure," he quipped.
The Labor leader also thanked his staff who he said made him "look good".
Earlier, deputy leader Roger Cook, who won his seat of Kwinana, admitted there had been some damage to the Labor brand from the federal government.
"To what extent that had a role to play in the state election is very difficult to say," he said.
Labor MP Paul Papalia, who won his seat of Warnbro, struggled to hide his disappointment, telling reporters that the Liberals were clearly struggling with a lack of talented leaders since they had to appoint controversial MP Troy Buswell as treasurer.
"What we're going to have is an even bigger pool of people who are incapable of performing at an appropriate level for the state," he said.
However, the result would suggest the public has no such problem with Mr Buswell or the Liberals.
As the crowd of about 100 Labor supporters drowned their sorrows in food and drinks, Mr McGowan took the time to thank people individually, maintaining an optimistic smile all the way.
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