Matt Western General Election 2024 speech

Transcript

00:00incredibly precious thing and you have all helped facilitate this so thank you to all of you for the

00:05work you've done through this last 24-30 hours. I'd like to start by thanking the people of

00:16Warwick, Leamington, Whitnash and the villages for voting and without those votes we don't have a

00:23democracy. Thank you if you have lent your votes to me, it is a very special thing and I hope that

00:31I can repay you. Can I also thank the other candidates for their participation in this

00:38contest, the way that they have campaigned and for the decency I believe that we have actually

00:45followed this particular election. For two years now we have waited since the resignation

00:52of Johnson, the public have wanted a general election and finally we got one. Now they have

00:59made their collective voices heard, a people left desperate over a decade of decay, a people

01:08suffering across a living crisis, a people feeling cheated by their own government

01:14and despite the government's most cynical efforts to disenfranchise people

01:19with the introduction of photo ID, postal vote failures, harder to access polling stations,

01:25the people have responded and they have voted for change. Today we turn the page, our country faces

01:34a new chapter, a new future of optimism, of possibilities, of greater and wider prosperity

01:43and lower inequality, a mission-led government driven by a determination to deliver a decade

01:50of renewal. After 14 years it may sound radical, repairing our streets, reviving our NHS,

01:59rebuilding our schools and education system, restoring the public services that people care

02:05about. Keir Starmer will lead a government that will put country before party. May I thank

02:15all those here this evening, the long-suffering volunteers who've helped

02:21me achieve this and the Labour party achieve this success and the hundreds that have helped,

02:26staple stuff, hold, deliver, knock, drive, drill and tie and count. There are too many of you to

02:35mention but you'll forgive me perhaps if I could just mention one or two, those that have made an

02:41outstanding contribution such as Steph, Linda, Suzanne and Josh. And if I may thank my small team,

02:53they know, they know who they are. They have served the needs of many, suffering the adversity

03:06brought by austerity. In Warwick and Hamilton I have fought for people and for communities whilst

03:12in opposition. At last in government we will be able to do more to help the many. And to my agents

03:19too, steadfast under pressure, who's given up countless hours, helped navigate us to this

03:28victory, thank you. And finally, if I may, to my wonderful, loving and supportive wife Rebecca

03:42and my two forgiving sons,

03:44Gabriel and Isaac. Thank you.