00:00Seagal Abdiwali, Labour Party, 12,292.
00:10Barmy Brunch, Official Monster Raving Loony Party, 87.
00:18George Galloway, Workers' Party, 314.
00:22Peter Newman, Reform UK, 1,612.
00:29Zach Polanski, The Green Party, 8,928.
00:39Therefore, I hereby declare that Seagal Abdiwali has been duly elected as Member of Parliament for Holborn and St. Pancras.
00:56Good morning. Good morning. I'm Councillor Tricia Lehmann, the Mayor of Camden.
01:02I'd like to congratulate the winning candidate, Seagal Abdiwali, and I now invite Seagal to the stage.
01:10Congratulations, Seagal.
01:19Thank you. Thank you so much, everyone.
01:22Firstly, I'd like to start by thanking the returning officer and all of the staff at Camden Council for facilitating
01:27this process in a really diligent way.
01:29Thank you also to the police who have been keeping us safe throughout all of this.
01:33Thank you so much, everyone.
01:56From the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you.
02:00And whether you vote for me or not, my commitment to this community runs deep.
02:04I promise that I will work every day to do whatever I can and all I can to improve your
02:10life and to improve the life of you and your family.
02:13This moment means something deeply personal to me, to represent the place that gave me a home and my family
02:19a home, gave me opportunity and helped shape the person I am today.
02:25Camden gave me a community and instilled in me a belief in social justice, in equality and in fairness.
02:30And to now have the privilege of representing this same community in Parliament is something that I will carry with
02:36enormous pride and humility.
02:38I hope this moment also says something about who gets to belong.
02:42For people who look like me, I hope they see themselves reflected in this place and know that their path
02:48too belongs here.
02:49This is Camden and this is Britain.
02:57For all people, but especially for young people, I want this to demonstrate that you do not have to surrender
03:05your hope to succeed.
03:07You can lead with optimism, with kindness and with conviction.
03:11I want young people to know that their background does not determine the size of their dreams and that public
03:15life is a place for them to make a difference.
03:18I came here as a child and this place gave me so much.
03:21A home, education, friendships, a community, an opportunity and it made me who I am.
03:27I've spent so much of my life trying to give back through community, work and public service and now to
03:32represent Camden in Parliament is perhaps the greatest way I can continue that journey.
03:35I will never forget where I came from and I will always relentlessly fight to be a voice for this
03:41place.
03:42I want to take this opportunity to thank my parents who taught me from a young age the importance of
03:47working hard, standing for your principles and always giving something back to the community that has given you so much.
03:54And thank you to everyone who's worked so hard to make this campaign possible.
03:58To the people who came from across the labour movement, given their time, energy and commitment.
04:02And to the many people in Camden who have never campaigned before but chose to be part of something hopeful.
04:08You've shown what is possible when people come together in a common cause.
04:13I want to take a moment to recognise and thank the brilliant MPs who represented Hoban and St Pancras previously
04:18before this moment.
04:20The late, great Frank Dobson who served this community with immense dedication and conviction.
04:28And Keir Starmer, who built on that legacy, representing this constituency for more than a decade and leading our party
04:35from opposition to government.
04:37I am deeply grateful for their service that they've given to this community and for the foundations that they've left
04:43for the next generation.
04:44To now have the privilege of taking on that mantle and to do so as the first woman to represent
04:49Hoban and St Pancras is an extraordinary honour.
04:54I sincerely thank Keir and the Dobson family, Joe, Tom and Jeanette for their support for me.
05:00It is with pride and humility that I hope I can build on their legacy and I will do everything
05:04I can to serve this constituency with the same purpose and dedication.
05:10Homelessness is the issue that first drove me into politics and no one should be sleeping on the streets and
05:15no family should be left without security of a home.
05:18I want to work with the Prime Minister Andy Burnham and our Labour government to tackle rough sleeping while addressing
05:23the wider housing crisis.
05:24So that people don't just get a roof over their heads but the security and hope that comes with having
05:29a proper home.
05:31Across this campaign I've spoken about Thames Water and it's appalling service.
05:35And I want to see Thames Water brought into public ownership so that it works for people and not profit.
05:40As MP I will fight for a water system that puts public interest first and gives people the confidence that
05:46essential services are being run for them.
05:49I've also spoken about another passion I hold.
05:52I want to bring more opportunities that Camden gave me to the next generation.
05:56I want more young people in Hoban and St Pancras to have access to good jobs, apprenticeships, skills and a
06:02chance to build a secure and prosperous future.
06:05This place gave me hope and opportunity when my family needed it most and I want every single person, young
06:10person in this community,
06:11whatever their backgrounds or circumstances, to feel that same opportunity belongs to them.
06:17A home instead of the street, a good job instead of insecurity, public service that works for people instead of
06:25profit,
06:25an apprenticeship that opens the door.
06:27That is what I want to deliver for Hoban and St Pancras.
06:33And finally, I want to talk about some of the experiences that I've had over the last few weeks.
06:39In Camden, our diversity is a strength and our cohesion has been too hard one to take for granted.
06:49Since I was a child, I've watched people across Camden work to build communities where difference is not something to
06:55fear, but something to value.
06:57We cannot allow that work, built over generations, to be casually undone by those who seek to divide us.
07:04We have a responsibility to defend what we've built and pass it on.
07:08Hope is not naive.
07:09Without hope, there is nothing to build on and nothing to build for.
07:12People need to believe that politics can make their lives better and that their communities can thrive and that tomorrow
07:18can be better than today.
07:20Our campaign gave people something to believe in while offering the practical experience and determination to deliver it.
07:27And that is what this victory represents.
07:29Winning not by making people afraid of each other, but by bringing people together around a positive vision for what
07:36our community and our country can be.
07:38Throughout our campaign, we chose hope, and the people of Hobeland St. Pancras chose it with us.
07:49And now, it's time to deliver.
07:52Thank you so much.
07:54Thank you so much.
