7 Oct 08
Earlier in the autumn I expressed concern about how Labour had seemingly lost its ability to explain what sort of country we want Britain to be. Poor opinion poll ratings were an inevitable consequence and worst of all, this posed the risk of unwittingly opening the door to the Tories – a prospect that constituencies like mine simply cannot afford.
As part of this I raised the question of leadership, and said that Gordon needed to regain the public’s trust and confidence. My view was that if Gordon were to win a leadership contest, he would emerge stronger.
Since then, times have moved on.
Gordon delivered a strong speech at Labour Conference which explained how our vision and values connect with voters, and we are facing an unprecedented global financial crisis.
The polls suggest that the public increasingly recognise Labour’s leadership has the right experience to respond to the crisis while the Conservatives have no solutions and nothing to say.
It is right to respond by focusing on the challenges that face us as a country, not on internal party matters. That is why I said to the Parliamentary Labour Party last night that hostilities are over and we should channel all our energies into protecting ordinary people’s interests in the face of a global financial storm.
