Adrian Ramsay, Green Party co-leader, has won the race for the new Waveney Valley constituency in the General Election.
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00:00Thank you Returning Officer and Acting Returning Officer.
00:05Waverley Valley, today you have made a momentous and exciting decision.
00:12You have decided to vote for positive change, to ensure your voices are heard by those who have taken our area for granted for too long.
00:23And you have shown that when you are given some care, when you are really listening, you will take the opportunity to vote for real hope and real change.
00:34I want to thank the thousands, over 20,000 of people in Waverley Valley who grasped that opportunity.
00:42I am truly humbled by your support.
00:46As a native East Anglian, I am honoured to become your representative.
00:51And I am clear that I will be Waverley Valley's voice in Westminster and not Westminster's voice in Waverley Valley.
01:00Standing up for our area and striving to make a difference for local people will be my top priority.
01:07I will speak out for you on the priorities you have told me about in this election, including the need to address the decline in our local services, the lack of affordable housing and the pollution in our rivers.
01:21In local elections, you have increasingly chosen to put your trust in Green councillors and have seen how their hard work and dedication results in positive change for your communities.
01:34I have had thousands of conversations with local residents over the last few years and I know they want an active and visible local MP and someone who will be an independent minded MP in Parliament.
01:48And I am determined to fulfil that role.
01:52I am also deeply conscious that I stand here on the shoulders of others, including the many Green trailblazing councillors across Suffolk, such as Andrew Stringer who was the first Green councillor in Suffolk over 20 years ago and others in our area like John Matheson, Rachel Eburn, Graham Elliott and many more Green trailblazers.
02:18To all of our Green councillors, many of you here tonight, the bedrock of this campaign, I want to say a huge thank you. I am profoundly grateful for your help and commitment to the people that you serve.
02:32Residents have said that they have been impressed at the strength of the Green campaign and I must thank my amazing team, Alfreid, Alasdair, Robert, Melissa and so many hundreds of volunteers who run a phenomenal campaign for the Green party in this seat, putting an incredible amount of work and a highly organised campaign to make this happen.
02:55Thank you also to my family, to my fiancé, to my children, to my sister, to my mum and dad who supported me and who believed in me.
03:04And thank you also to my employers, now former employers at the MTS Foundation and my trustees and colleagues who have shown understanding in the need for me to take some unpaid leave with the uncertainty of whether I would be returning and we do ask employers a lot as candidates.
03:24I also want to extend my thanks to my fellow candidates, to all of you, I wish you all the best. And to the acting returning officer, Arthur Shinobia, his staff and the police for all their hard work and efficiency in conducting this election.
03:41Waverley Valley, today you have made history. You've shown that the Green party appeals just as much in rural areas, in our market towns and villages as it does in the cities. And you sent a clear message to Westminster by electing the first Green MP in East Anglia.
04:01We will have embraced our message that we want to put the real investment that's needed into the NHS and social care and our public services and that we need real action on the environment because time and time again people have said to me on the doorsteps that they're voting Green because they're thinking about what the future will be like for their children and grandchildren.
04:31And I think about the fact that the UN has said it's code red for humanity on climate, that we're one of the most nature depleted countries on earth and we have a scandal of sewage in our rivers.
04:41And I think that the deep concern that people have in East Anglia and across the country for the environment reaches across the political divide and we now have a bigger group of Green MPs in Parliament where I and my colleagues will be determined to press the new government to take the bold action that's needed to defend and restore our environment and our public services.
05:03I pledged during my campaign that we would hold the new government to account and press them for the action that's needed and we will do just that on climate, on housing and on the NHS. I stand by that pledge today and I'll work hard and shout loudly on your behalf.
05:19I also pledge to work positively with others where I agree. We need to move beyond tribal politics to a more civil approach of people working together in the national interest or on issues where we can agree.
05:32And as the third and I don't think final Green MP to be elected this evening, I also want to say a huge thank you to our national team of amazing staff, members and volunteers right around the country who've delivered the most ambitious Green Party election campaign ever.
05:54With candidates right across the country, a high Green vote share and now a group of Green MPs in Parliament to press for the action that's needed. Thank you to everybody for your amazing dedication. This is not only the start of a new Green chapter for Waverley Valley but also for Britain and so I say to everyone who voted for me, everyone who supported my campaign in any way, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
06:24Thank you.