Jade Botterill's victory speech as she wins Ossett and Denby Dale for Labour

Jade Botterill's victory speech as she wins Ossett and Denby Dale for Labour in the 2024 general election

Transcript

00:00I want to begin by thanking the return officer and the camp team for their hard work and

00:12the police for keeping it safe. I also want to thank my fellow candidates, especially

00:17Mark Eastwood, for a dignified, respectful campaign. And thank you to all the volunteers

00:23that have helped deliver this historic victory. When I was selected here, we always knew it

00:28would be an uphill battle. This result is testament to the hard work of my entire campaign

00:35team, who have worked tirelessly every single day since this general election was called.

00:41To all of you, and especially my fabulous agent, Robert Gosling, thank you from the

00:51bottom of my heart. Today, hard-working people across Austin-Denverdale raise their voice

00:59to demand change. And now, the country has trusted Labour to deliver that change. But

01:07to understand the change we need, we must be honest about where we are. Eight million

01:14people on hospital waiting lists, schools crumbling down, our public services a breaking

01:21point, that quiet feeling when at the end of the month that hard about you just did

01:27doesn't quite make ends meet. That's what 14 years has done to our area. But now, we

01:35have the chance to turn the page and rebuild our community. I know this will be the first

01:42time many people across Austin-Denverdale face Labour. To those voters who put their

01:47faith in me, and put their faith in Labour, thank you for putting your trust in us to

01:53change the country. We ran this election as a changed Labour party, and we will govern

02:00as a changed Labour party. To those that did not vote for me, know that I will always champion

02:07our area. It's the honour of my life to represent the area I grew up in, and that

02:14made me who I am today. And I promise you this, I will always be straight with you.

02:21We have challenges ahead, and not everything is going to be solved overnight. But it's

02:26time to bring honesty and integrity back into politics. We will roll up our sleeves and

02:32get the job done. From economic security, to cheaper bills, to good quality green jobs,

02:40to safer streets, to slashed NHS waiting lists, to secure borders, to equal opportunities

02:46for all of our children, Labour will change things for the better. We have delivered before,

02:53and we will deliver again. Politicians and politics should serve the public. It's time

03:00to end the chaos and dysfunction in Westminster, and start to rebuild our country together.

03:07Thank you for putting faith in me, in Labour, in our community's future, in change.

03:14Thank you very much.