00:00Madam Mayor, thank you very much for the declaration and can I first of all thank you and the returning
00:12officer and all the staff that have arranged this election for the very hard work and very
00:17efficient way in which it's been run. It is a credit to Islington, thank you very much
00:22for the great work you've done in those respects. I also want to place on record my enormous
00:28thanks to the people of Islington North for electing me for the eleventh time as their
00:35Member of Parliament. I'm truly honoured to serve and I look forward to serving the people
00:41once again. I want to place on record enormous thanks to my team, an incredible team of volunteers
00:49that came from all parts of our borough and all parts of the country to help in a campaign
00:55that was positive, that was inclusive and that was hopeful and in only five weeks from
01:02nothing we built a campaign which produced this result today. I'm very proud of them,
01:08very proud of the work that they've done and very proud of this result. Our campaign was
01:15a positive one. Our campaign did not get into the gutter of politics as is too often happening
01:23in this country. Ours is a positive campaign trying to bring hope to people who are in
01:31housing stress, who are homeless, who are going through mental health difficulties,
01:37who are worried about their future. And the political system has to produce answers to
01:44those concerns and those worries. Demonising refugees, demonising people from other countries
01:51won't solve those problems. The only way we solve the problems of our community is
01:56by uniting our communities. And our campaign is utterly and utterly united. And so this
02:06result is to me a resounding message from the people of Islington North that they want
02:13something different, they want something better and in the new government that's coming in
02:19they're looking for an end to things like the two-child benefit policy. They're looking
02:25for that. They're looking for regulation on the child detention centre. And if I may say
02:30so, they're also looking for a government that on the world stage will search for peace
02:35not war and not allow the terrible conditions we have in Gaza at the present time. So this
02:43was a grassroots campaign, a grassroots campaign that isn't going to disappear, isn't going
02:48to go away. It's brought together people from all walks of life, from all ethnic communities,
02:54from all languages and all ages in a determination to get something better in our society. My
03:03job in Parliament will be, as it's always been, to deal with the individual problems
03:08that many of our people face, but to speak up. To speak up where necessary in criticism
03:14in order to bring about the social changes that this country needs and my constituency
03:20needs. And I'm humbled and proud and very grateful to the people of Islington North
03:25who I've represented for so long and have taught me so much. I owe my life and my learning
03:32and my abilities entirely to the people of Islington North. This victory is a dedication
03:37to them and steadfastness in the face of opposition, steadfastness in the face of
03:45abuse. We have shown what kinder, gentler, more sensible, more inclusive politics can
03:51bring about. I couldn't be more proud of my constituency than I am tonight. I'm proud
03:56of our team that brought this result. Thank you very much Islington North for the result
04:01we've achieved tonight. Thank you.
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