Conservative James Morris loses his seat

Express & Star

Conservative James Morris loses his seat and Halesowen is taken by Labour's Alex Ballinger

Transcript

00:00Ladies and gentlemen, I now have the result of the Hale-Zowen parliamentary election.

00:13I, Kevin O'Keefe, being the Acting Returning Officer at the election of the Member of Parliament

00:18for Hale-Zowen, do hereby give notice that the number of votes recorded for each candidate

00:24at the said election is as follows. Alex Ballinger, Labour Party, 15,023 votes. Emma Catherine

00:37Mary Bullard, the Green Party candidate, 2,151 votes. James Morris, the Conservative Party

00:49candidate, 10,659 votes. Jonathan Paul Ogden, Reform UK, 8,484 votes. Ryan Ashley Priest,

01:08Liberal Democrat candidate, 2,261 votes. The number of ballot papers rejected is as follows.

01:171 of the official mark, 5, voting for more than one candidate, 82,142. The turnout for

01:26this constituency was 56.54%. And I do hereby declare that Alexander O'Ballinger is duly

01:34elected.

01:35I champion the causes and fight for Hale-Zowen in Westminster. I want to thank my team for

02:03the huge amount of work they've put in over the last few weeks, in particular Matt and

02:07Hakeem, and the dozens of volunteers who've given up their time to campaign for Labour

02:13at Hale-Zowen. It's been a huge effort, but your dedication has been vital to get our

02:18message out and deliver the change that Hale-Zowen needs. And I want to thank my wife, Nida,

02:24for supporting me amazingly through this campaign. Mary Jones, your help and support has helped

02:30me through the last few weeks. Thank you so much. Tonight we have turned a page and

02:35secured a fresh start for Hale-Zowen, for Cradley Heath and Aldhill, for Quarry Bank

02:39in Dudley Wood, and for Cradley in Willowscote. Above all, I would like to thank the people

02:44from all parts of our constituency who have put their trust in me to be their Member of

02:48Parliament. I have made promises I intend to keep, and I will be your champion in Westminster

02:53to get the best deal for Hale-Zowen. I know some of you have voted Labour for the first

02:57time, and I intend to repay that trust you have put in me. Your vote is a vote for a

03:04Labour party that is focused on the priorities of working people in Hale-Zowen. We will fight

03:09for economic security, cheaper bills, safer streets, to get the NHS back on its feet,

03:15secure borders and better opportunities for our children. We ran this election as a change

03:20Labour party. Thank you for putting your trust in us to change the country. Keir Starmer

03:26is realistic about the scale of the challenges we face and the practical, common-sense steps

03:31we will need to take. There is no magic wand, but the Labour party has a laser focus on

03:37what it will take to get Britain's future back. I have served my country for 20 years,

03:43as a Royal Marine, as an aid worker and a diplomat. I now hope to serve the people of

03:47Hale-Zowen as your representative in Westminster. It is time to end the chaos and dysfunction

03:53and start to rebuild our country together. Now I will get on the job that you have sent

03:56me to Westminster to do.

03:58I'd just like to thank the returning officer as well, and to thank all the other candidates

04:09and congratulate Alex on his victory. It's been a great privilege to have been the Member

04:16of Parliament for Hale-Zowen and Raleigh this past 14 years. I think we've delivered a lot.

04:23It's been a great privilege, and I just wanted to thank the communities of the constituency

04:27that I've represented for working with me and supporting me in the work that I've done.

04:34It's a great privilege being a Member of Parliament. There's great challenges that Alex will face

04:40as he takes up his role as a Member of Parliament, and I know that he will build on the legacy

04:46of commitment to doing the right thing for the people of Hale-Zowen, Craven, Wollaston

04:51and Corribank and Dudley Wood and even Old Hill. So that's goodbye from me for now.

05:21Thank you.

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