Yvette Cooper's victory speech as she wins the Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley seat
Yvette Cooper's victory speech as she wins the Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley seat in the 2024 general election
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00:00Thank you very much. I wanted to just thank everyone who has taken part in this election.
00:15Thank you most of all to the people of the Pontefract, Castleford, Nottingley and the Colt Office for putting your trust in Labour and for putting your trust in me once more.
00:30It is the greatest of honours to represent our towns and our communities, our incredibly hard-working communities through thick and thin.
00:41Here in our towns and right across the country, we have seen tonight an overwhelming moment for change after 14 years of Conservative government.
00:55It is an end to the chaos, to the failure, but also a historic result for Labour, a result which feels more remarkable for the journey that we have come on when we think back to a dark, rainy day in December four and a half years ago.
01:16And that journey is testament to his startlingship, to the way that he has changed our party so that our party can once again serve our country and be ready to change our country.
01:33A party that has worked hard to earn back support, to put our party back in the service of working people, fighting for the things that people in our towns care about, our NHS, the stability and security that families need.
01:50We need to get police back on the streets, our border security, the future of our children and our young people.
01:57So many things that we know we have so much work now on which to do.
02:04But it's also something more. It's about making our country work for working people again and bringing our country back together.
02:15The strength of that vote for change is a testament to the damage that has been done over the last 14 years, but it's also to the challenges that we know as a country that we face ahead.
02:30And that is our task now, not just on our public services, on our economy, on issues around crime, around immigration, we know the challenges that we face, but also to change the way that we do our politics.
02:46Instead of the gimmicks we need hard wrapped, instead of the kinds of chasing headlines designed to splinter our country apart, the hard work to bring people together.
03:00Finally, I just wanted to thank all of the other councillors in this election, to thank the returning officers, to thank all of the counting agents who have been here through the night, to thank the police for supporting us all and keeping us safe.
03:15And to thank everyone for the spirit of this election and for being part of our democracy, because tonight is our democracy at work, our chance for all of us to argue, to disagree, but ultimately to choose our government where the power lies in people across the country, in people's hands across the country, and to do so peacefully.
03:40Those democratic principles have sometimes been challenged, but they are precious and we commend them and we cherish them. So now that the votes are passed and counted, it's time for the change to begin. Thank you very much.