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Tag: 2011 Labour Party Conference

  • Tessa Jowell – 2011 Speech to Labour Party Conference

    Below is the text of the speech made by Tessa Jowell to Labour Party conference on 25th September 2011.

    Conference, I think I speak for all of us when I say how proud we are to be here in Liverpool, the 2008 City of Culture, to celebrate London as an Olympic city in 2012.

    But of course it’s not just a celebration for London – but a celebration for the whole of the UK.

    Because the Olympics will be held in the largest new urban park in Europe.

    Built in East London by businesses all around the UK.

    More than 1,000 contracts nationwide.

    40,000 jobs just in the Olympic Park, apprenticeships across the country.

    And just look at the Olympic Stadium.

    The concrete from Essex.

    The steel from Bolton.

    The seats from Luton.

    And the turf from Scunthorpe.

    Conference, these Games will change the geography of London.

    A new cultural, commercial and sporting quarter in East London.

    Fulfilling the promise that we made when we bid to host the Games, when we were in Government.

    60 years of regeneration in just six.

    It’s an achievement of which we can all be proud.

    Completed on time and under budget.

    So 2012 will see the Olympics and the Paralympics, and it will also see the celebrations of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

    But before that…

    We have big elections for the GLA and the Mayor of London.

    A big Labour-Tory battle.

    Londoners face the double whammy of a Tory Mayor and a Tory-led Government.

    The people of London live with what this means

    – That it’s the Tories that put up their tube fares.

    – That it’s the Tories that break their promises on the police.

    – And that it’s the Tories that place the economy at risk – by playing politics with jobs and growth

    London’s first line of defence is our Labour members of the GLA, and we’re so proud of you all:

    The Leader of the Group, Len Duvall:

    Jennette Arnold

    John Biggs

    Joanne McCartney

    Navin Shah

    Nicky Gavron

    Murad Qureshi

    And of course the person we hope will be the next deputy Mayor, Val Shawcross.

    Standing up for what Labour did – and what London Labour has to do.

    Just remember what Ken oversaw as Mayor.

    The biggest investment in public transport since the Second World War.

    Neighbourhood police teams in every ward.

    And, with Tony Blair and me – an Olympic moment and Olympic legacy that will change London forever.

    Ken, as we remember your achievements and the challenges ahead, we must make sure that the contest next May will not be just a contest of celebrity.

    It must be a campaign about who will be the most effective leader, the most effective Mayor of London during these most difficult of times.

    A campaign about who understands the lives of real Londoners.

    The millions of people who never see their face in the diary pages of the Evening Standard or Hello Magazine – but day in day out, work hard, play by the rules and just want to get on.

    This is Ken’s city and those people are Ken’s Londoners.

    These are the people who are counting on the Mayor to get things done for them – so that they can do more for themselves.

    Because it’s competence not celebrity that gets young people back to work.

    Competence not celebrity that will build them new homes.

    Competence not celebrity that will keep their tube fares down.

    They don’t need a TV personality – but they do need a mayor that realises this is the largest job in public service outside No 10 Downing Street.

    With the talent, ambition and drive to build a better future for London.

    London is a Labour City.

    And Ken, we are with you.

    Every activist will be working tirelessly to return a Labour GLA and elect you as mayor.

    But we all know that beating Boris Johnson will be a whole lot tougher.

    We shouldn’t underestimate how the Olympics will give him the advantage of incumbency.

    Turning this around will be a real challenge.

    Ken knows that. He’s up for that fight.

    Our activists, who chose him so overwhelmingly, know that too.

    And that’s why, Conference, we are today united in our determination and our passion to win this campaign.

    So this week, each and every one of you, make a pledge to help Ken win.

    Our campaign will be led from the grassroots, spread through word of mouth.

    So get on yourken.org and pledge how you can get involved.

    Lead the campaign in your ward or take responsibility for your street.

    And you can see how it’s done here.

    So Conference, so that Londoners, across our city, can finish the sentence – ‘I’m voting for Ken because’.

    I’m proud to introduce.

    Our candidate.

    The future Mayor of London.

    Ken Livingstone.

  • Peter Hain – 2011 Speech to Labour Party Conference

    Below is the text of the speech made by Peter Hain to the Labour Party conference on 25th September 2011.

    Conference, we’ve heard today from Margaret Hodge about the magnificent campaign in Barking where she kicked out Nick Griffin and the BNP.

    A great victory for us, and a great victory for democracy.

    We’ve also heard today about the fantastic wins in Birmingham Edgbaston and Oxford East. Seats the pundits had written off, seats we should have lost.

    Suppose we had replicated their success right across all of our 100 most marginal seats.

    What would have happened?

    We could still have been in power.

    Maybe not with a majority.

    But at least as the biggest party.

    Able to protect the country from the dogma inflicted by this right wing Tory-led Government.

    Because, although on paper each of those constituencies should have been lost, they defied the massive national swing against Labour.

    They won against the tide because – through years of patient work in the community – they mobilised hundreds of supporters, and not just members, to campaign for Labour.

    They were at the heart of their communities and so people who would never have joined the Party delivered leaflets, persuaded neighbours, friends and relatives.

    They were Labour’s invisible army in these constituencies.

    They went under the radar of ferocious attacks on our Party, and Labour won.

    This is what Refounding Labour is about, and this is why it’s so important.

    It’s not just about creating a party fit for the digital era, and rooted in community organising, linked like an umbilical cord to voters.

    It is also about winning.

    Those and another dozen constituencies demonstrated what can be achieved by being in tune with the new politics.

    They denied David Cameron his majority.

    If – and only if – voters trust local Labour parties, trust our MPs, trust our candidates, and trust our councillors, they don’t necessarily go with national trends in the way they used to.

    In an age of 24-hour news and the internet, politics may have become more global and national.

    But it has also become more local.

    And that is where our opportunity lies.

    To build a vibrant movement capable of winning the next General Election, Labour also needs to transform our policy making, because that is essential to rebuilding trust and support from members, trade unionists and voters. We want to open up our process of making policy, both to give party members a greater say and to enable supporters and voters to feed in their ideas, so that the party leadership keeps in much closer touch with them.

    Revitalising our policy-making in this way will help ensure that lessons learned on the doorstep, in meetings with community groups and through discussion with our supporters, can genuinely and easily make their way from local party activists to the National Policy Forum and Annual Conference – and from there into manifestos which reflect the needs of the squeezed middle who are finding life tougher and tougher right across Britain.

    As the NEC Statement says, in the next few months we will consult on the detail.

    On how exactly we make a reformed policy making system more accessible and responsive to members, on how exactly we make a freshly empowered Annual Conference more democratic.

    We will also make it easier for members to be involved in the party.

    We will introduce clear lines of accountability to the membership and the wider public for all Labour candidates and elected representatives – from local councillors to Shadow Cabinet members.

    We will insist that every Labour candidate and elected representative signs a contract committing to probity, active service to the public and leadership in party campaigning.

    This is what we mean by Refounding Labour.

    And we will reach out to potentially hundreds of thousands of Labour supporters – people who wouldn’t join, but who could be registered as supporters.

    That’s what Barack Obama did to win in 2008 – created a peoples’ movement amongst those who never saw themselves as party animals but were with him and were vital to his victory.

    That’s what Ken is doing in London.

    This is what we mean by Refounding Labour.

    Registering thousands of new supporters is a huge opportunity, not a threat.  Members, not supporters, will still choose our MPs and councillors, still choose delegates to Conference, still make policy. Members and trade unionists will still have a much, much bigger say than supporters in leadership elections.

    But we want to open up our Party to those who won’t join but will support.

    We have to build a peoples’ movement for Labour; in our neighbourhoods, in our workplaces.

    This is what we mean by Refounding Labour.

    And let me say this to Nick Clegg who last week attacked our Party’s link with 3 million trade unionists just as his Tory master David Cameron will do next week.

    Ten days ago who was there at the very start for the trapped Welsh miners?

    The South Wales National Union of Mineworkers.

    Who is now looking after their traumatised families?

    The NUM.

    Trade unionism is vital in any society and we are proud of our union link.

    Whatever attacks come from Tories, Liberals, or next month the independent Standards Committee, we say from this conference: we will not weaken, but strengthen our links with individual trade unionists.

    But agreement on these reforms is only the beginning.

    We have to implement them so that we genuinely do ‘Refound Labour’.

    And this cannot be achieved from above, even with an Annual Conference mandate.

    It can only be delivered from below, at the grassroots of our movement, in every constituency party.

    That is the challenge for each and every one of us: to build a quite different type of party in tune with the new politics rather than remaining with the old. If we achieve this – and last year’s General Election successes in constituencies like Barking, Edgbaston and Oxford East demonstrate that we can – then we will have leapfrogged the other major parties, and left them stuck behind.

    Now let’s go out and together get on with the job of Refounding Labour to win.

  • Caroline Flint – Speech to 2011 Labour Party Conference

    Below is the text of the speech made by Caroline Flint to the 2011 Labour Party conference on 29th September 2011.

    Conference, nearly 45 years ago, in this great city, the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral opened.

    Built from the donations of ordinary people, when they had so little to give.

    As the dedication reminds us, they did it by touting the streets and pubs and knocking on doors like their own.

    They did it with dolls and raffle tickets.

    They did it with pools and bingo.

    They did it with silver paper and tuppenny legacies.

    They did it with cigarette and Green Shield stamps.

    They did it with old newspapers and wedding rings.

    They did it.

    And the day it opened was their day.

    That is the history of our party.

    From the Christian socialism of the Welsh valleys.

    To the self-help tradition of the Rochdale pioneers and the co-operative movement.

    And visionary trade unionists like Doncaster railwaymen Thomas Steels and Jimmy Holmes, who moved the motion that persuaded the trade unions to create our great party.

    Ours is the story of ordinary people in ordinary communities achieving extraordinary things.

    They said that Labour could never win in Dartmouth.

    Ben Cooper was prepared to stand up for Labour values.

    And he won.

    In Barking and Dagenham, when people feared the rise of the British National Party, brave men and women like Josie Channer, stood up against ignorance and prejudice

    And won.

    In York, Liberal Democrats said that 29 was too young for someone to run the council.

    James Alexander proved that only Labour could bring the change that city wanted.

    And Labour won.

    Labour’s 800 – our new generation of councillors elected in May, prove day in day out that it is not age, it’s attitude that matters.

    Every day, in the face of huge, frontloaded cuts.

    Thousands of Labour councillors are:

    – Giving voice to their communities.

    – Defending the services people rely on.

    – And building the good society.

    The Tories like to talk the language of localism.

    But it’s a strange localism that imposes cuts that fall deeper and faster on local councils and communities, than on almost any central government department.

    It’s a strange localism that dismantles local services and puts blind faith in volunteers taking up the reins – because, as Ed Miliband has said, you can’t volunteer in your local Sure Start centre or library when it’s already been closed.

    It’s a strange localism that sees Eric Pickles take to the TV studios to smear local councillors with cynical, politically motivated attacks.

    It’s a supreme irony that a man of Eric Pickles’ stature is the Minister for Meals on Wheels.

    And barely a day goes by without another missive from Mr Pickles to local councils.

    Frankly, it would take more than a weekly bin collection to get rid of his rubbish.

    Labour councils are showing that we are the real party of localism.

    Not the party of big government, or an over-bearing Whitehall.

    But the party of quality local services, of modern housing, and stronger communities.

    Giving people a voice.

    Giving them hope – when all the Tories offer is chaos, confusion and fear.

    And I want to tell those councillors that we are doing our bit to ensure your voice is heard by the Government.

    I am proud of the support my Shadow Team give to you.

    So my thanks to:

    Barbara Keeley

    Alison Seabeck, to

    Jack Dromey

    Chris Williamson

    Angela Smith

    And Julie Elliott.

    And our Lords team:

    Jeremy Beecham

    Bill McKenzie and

    Roy Kennedy.

    And most of all, our thanks to friends, old and new, in local government.

    Who keep us on our toes.

    And show us the impact of this Government’s failed policies.

    And Dave, thanks to you. Your support has been invaluable in the last year.

    Conference, one Tory MP said that chaos in the planning system is a good thing.

    Well, they’ve certainly delivered on that.

    Their planning reforms have already caused confusion and alarm.

    But we are living in strange times when the Government reveals that the National Trust is part of a vast left-wing conspiracy

    I must be going to the wrong meetings.

    Of course, we all want an effective planning system that is able to meet our future needs for housing, transport and infrastructure, and which supports jobs and growth.

    And that is exactly what we did in government.

    Building businesses and homes, creating jobs, supporting growth.

    And we did so, while we created new National Parks. And protected over 1.6million hectares of green belt.

    Labour did so, while ensuring brownfield and town centre first policies.

    And we won’t let them undermine this now.

    It is a disgraceful sight.

    To see Tory and Liberal Democrat ministers proudly publicising their opposition to local housing schemes in their back yard.

    While standing in Parliament wringing their hands about the need for more homes.

    Pure hypocrisy.

    The truth is the economy isn’t stalling because of the planning system.

    It’s stalling because of the Tories.

    Cuts that go too far, too fast. And no plan for growth.

    Look at what they’re doing on housing.

    First time buyers waiting longer.

    Fewer houses built last year than any year since the 1920s.

    200,000 new homes cancelled in 18 months

    Waiting lists for council houses soaring.

    And only half a million mortgages provided last year.

    Half the number provided each year during Labour’s first ten years.

    Conference, the Tories have sucked the life out of our economy.

    And hit the building industry hard.

    And for every one of the housing developments cancelled there are skilled people put out of work and small suppliers put out of business.

    That’s why we must kickstart the building industry by repeating the bankers’ bonus tax to fund 25,000 new homes.

    And why a temporary cut in VAT to 5% on home improvements is vital.

    Because George:

    You might enjoy it hurting.

    But it certainly ain’t working.

    Conference, I am proud of what we achieved in our 13 years in power.

    Proud of the one and a half million homes modernised.

    Proud of the 250,000 affordable homes built in the teeth of a recession.

    And proud of the 1 million extra families able to buy a home for the first time.

    But I’m honest, too, that we did not do enough.

    So today I reaffirm our commitment:

    To a decent home for all.

    At a price within their means.

    In a place they want to live.

    To the many people who want to own their home.

    Who want to build an asset.

    Who want security.

    Who want a little more control over their own life.

    We will support that dream.

    But I also want those same benefits to be spread to those who live in social housing or the private rented sector as well.

    Conference, we have ambitions for social housing.

    To once again serve its original purpose.

    A positive choice for many.

    Homes for heroes.

    Homes for those in need.

    Homes for the hardworking.

    And I’m not going to take any lectures on aspiration from a prime minister who believes that, if you get a pay rise you should be kicked out of your council house.

    Under Labour, the private rented sector will be properly regulated, so every family that rents has security and choice.

    And we will not ignore that more than a million properties in the private rented sector would not meet the decent homes standard.

    It cannot be right that housing benefit continues to go into the pockets of landlords who have tenants in sub-standard properties.

    Under Labour.

    We will end it.

    To the family who own their home but worry that their children never will.

    To the older person wanting a smaller house.

    But close to the church or community they’ve known their whole life.

    To the son or daughter still living with relatives.

    Or sleeping on the sofa of a friend.

    For all those whose voice is never heard.

    I say, we are on your side.

    And we will fight to keep housing at the top of the agenda.

    But we will only do that if we give councils the powers they need to build the homes their communities want.

    In government, we were too slow to trust local councils and communities.

    We were too reluctant to relinquish the levers of the state.

    Too often, we looked like the party of Whitehall.

    Not the town hall.

    But Ed Miliband and I both know:

    The only way you create stronger, safer, fairer communities is by trusting people to make their own decisions.

    As our film showed, Labour Councils are pioneering new ways of delivering services.

    Reinvigorating civic life.

    And empowering local people.

    But localism can never mean cutting councils loose.

    Leaving communities to fend for themselves.

    Or pitting North against South.

    Where the Tories try to divide our country, we will seek unity.

    Around a funding system fair to everyone, and which reflects need, as well as encouraging growth.

    So that every council is able to deliver the services its community relies on.

    On May 5th, we took another step forward.

    From Gravesham to Gedling, Telford to Ipswich, Hull to Barrow in Furness.

    In our great cities.

    And in our market towns.

    In our villages.

    And in our seaside resorts.

    Labour is regaining the confidence of the British people.

    Town by town.

    Street by street.

    Door by door.

    At every opportunity:

    We must win more seats.

    And more councils.

    Until the Tories’ onslaught on local government is stopped in its tracks.

    Today, I say to the British people:

    Labour is once again finding its voice in all corners of our country.

    The party of community.

    The party of localism.

    And in 2015, the party of government.

  • Maria Eagle – 2011 Speech to Labour Party Conference

    marieagle

    Below is the text of the speech made by Maria Eagle, the Shadow Transport Secretary, to the Labour Party conference in Liverpool on 26th September 2011.

    Conference.

    As Liverpool’s voice in the Shadow Cabinet, I’m proud to welcome you to our fantastic city. A city transformed under a Labour government. A city determined not to be dragged back, despite the best efforts of the Tories and Liberal Democrats. And I pay tribute to the inspirational leadership of Joe Anderson as he steers our city through tough times.

    And in May, Liverpool told the Liberal Democrats what we thought of their decision to sell out this city. To prop up a Tory government. We defeated them in seat after seat. And I want to welcome to his first conference our energetic new councillor for Wavertree: elected in May at just 18 years old: Jake Morrison.

    It’s great to see Liverpool leading the way on transport. Outside London, the only city to take control of its rail network. Keeping fares down. And about to introduce our version of London’s Oystercard: the Walrus – the first travelcard in the country that buys more than just your ticket.

    And wouldn’t it be good if London was once again led by someone who understands why transport matters? Someone who doesn’t let bus and tube fares spiral, but brings them under control. So let’s ensure the next Mayor of London is a Labour Mayor: Ken Livingstone.

    Devolving funding and decision making over transport is making a real difference in our cities. But in government we didn’t go far enough.

    That’s why our policy review has been looking at how we can devolve more transport responsibilities. Local and regional rail services. Investment in our roads. These are decisions that should be made locally, by integrated transport authorities. Not just in our major cities but right across the country.

    And, just like in London, powers to deliver bus services in the way that best suits each community. Quality Contracts were a good start. But the incentives to use them just aren’t there and the risks too great.

    In too many places: No accountability. No way for local communities to set priorities. Profits, not passengers, too often driving decisions.

    So, our policy review is looking at the right way to reverse bus deregulation.

    But it’s not right to say that this government doesn’t believe in devolution. When it suits them.

    Like devolving to local authorities the cuts to local transport. Half a billion pounds, this year alone.

    Setting back the progress we made on road safety.

    Setting back initiatives to get people cycling and walking.

    Cutting bus services: Reducing opportunities for young people. Increasing social isolation.

    Just think back to the election. Remember the TV debates? Remember David Cameron’s outrage when we warned that free bus passes for older people were under threat? Yet he’s slashed funding for the scheme. So bus routes are being cut. And now, up and down the country, pensioners want to know: what use is a free bus pass without a bus?

    And do you know what is even more despicable?

    Ending reduced fares on coaches for older and disabled people. Cutting a lifeline. Causing misery and isolation this Christmas.

    And who has been in the driving seat of these cuts? Liberal Democrat Transport Minister, Norman Baker. Fast becoming a modern day Beeching for the buses.

    The same Norman Baker who promised to cut rail fares at the election. But is hiking them by 8%. Not for one year. But three years in a row.

    Eye watering ticket prices. Not my words. But Transport Secretary Philip Hammond’s. Has there ever been a Secretary of State so out of touch with the day to day lives of millions of people, up and down the country?

    And the Lib Dems just let him get away with it.

    And what has Norman Baker got in return?

    The centrepiece of his conference speech last week:

    The Road Signs Review.

    I think we know which road signs will survive his review.

    No left turn.

    U-turn here.

    And no doubt we’ll be seeing lots more Give Way signs.

    Giving way on rail fares.

    Giving way on bus cuts.

    Norman Baker: the Give Way Minister in a Give Way party: that’s the Liberal Democrats in this Tory-led Government.

    It’s right to blame the government for bus cuts and fare rises.

    But the transport companies have a social responsibility too. And since privatisation, we’ve not seen enough of it.

    We’ve stood by the bus companies as the government has cut their subsidies. Now I want them to stand by Britain’s next generation.

    So today I call on them to work together. And in return for the support they receive, invest some of their profits in Britain’s young people. And in time for the next academic year, deliver a concessionary fares scheme for 16-18 year olds in education or training. And if they don’t, the government should insist that they do.

    And we need greater responsibility from the train operating companies too.

    So when rail franchises come up, here’s what the government should do.

    Not reward companies that walk away from franchises to avoid payments to Government. Then expect to bid again or carry on making money somewhere else on the network.

    Not reward companies who stealthily widen peak time, to charge the highest prices for more of the day.

    Not reward companies who average out the fare cap, so commuters pay way over the odds for a ticket. Even though Tory ministers tell them it’s OK.

    That’s the irresponsibility at the top that Ed Miliband has pledged that a future Labour government will tackle. No more something for nothing in our privatised industries.

    And let’s be honest. Our rail system is not fit for purpose and needs radical change. And I think we were too timid about this in government.

    It cannot be right that the rail industry costs the taxpayer £4bn a year, yet a few at the top can walk away with hundreds of millions of pounds in profit every year.

    The Tory answer? Close ticket offices. Sack frontline staff. Profit driving infrastructure, not just services. Back to the days of Railtrack.

    But there is an alternative.

    Isn’t it time to tackle the fragmentation of our rail industry that is the disastrous legacy of the Tory privatisation?

    Because it is madness that the taxpayer has to pay compensation to train companies while track is repaired – even though it’s essential to run their services.

    It is madness that the taxpayer then pays the same company again, so that their bus division can provide a rail replacement service.

    I think that if your train is replaced by a bus, your ticket should cost less. But under our fragmented industry, that won’t happen. Because the train companies will just pass on the cost to the taxpayer.

    The country wants us to find a better way to deliver rail service in Britain. That’s what we heard loud and clear in our policy review.

    They manage it in other parts of the EU. And we can do it here.

    So, over the coming months, we will be looking at the right way to bring order back to the chaos in our railways.

    And let’s have a new deal for British train manufacturing too.

    When the Prime Minister took his Cabinet to Derby, home of our last train manufacturer, he said he’d support local businesses. Then placed a massive order for new trains with a company that will build them in Germany.

    It’s time to nail a lie.

    If the government thought the tender was wrong: they had every right to rip it up and start again.

    The truth? As Philip Hammond has admitted: it just didn’t occur to him.

    Because this is a government that cannot think beyond the bottom line.

    The local workforce at Bombardier should be proud of the way they are fighting. Not just for their jobs, but for the future of train manufacturing in this country. And we should be proud of the fantastic job that our local Labour MPs – Margaret Beckett and Chris Williamson – are doing. And the effort and resources of the trade unions, leading this fight. We stand with you and we must keep fighting for those jobs.

    And let’s make sure that never again do we stack the odds so badly against Britain.

    So today I say to Philip Hammond: there is no faith that your Department will give British manufacturing a fair chance. So hand over responsibility for ordering the new Crossrail trains to Transport for London, which – thanks to Labour – has a track record of buying British. And, while we’re at it, let’s show our commitment to rail devolution by letting them manage more of London’s suburban rail services. Providing another opportunity for British train manufacturing.

    And let’s set out a long term strategy for investing in our rail infrastructure.

    No more talk of classic rail, but a network transformed with a programme to complete electrification and introduce a new generation of high speed inter-city trains. And, yes, let’s also tackle capacity problems between north and south. And in the only credible way it can be done.

    That’s why it was Labour that set out plans for a new high speed line. Not just from London to Birmingham, but on to Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds. Cutting journey times across the UK, benefitting Glasgow and Edinburgh. And, yes, bringing Liverpool under 100 minutes from London.

    But the Tory-led Government is only planning to take powers to construct the line as far as Birmingham which casts real doubt on their long term commitment to delivering high speed rail in the north. They should think again and ensure the whole route is included in the forthcoming legislation.

    And let’s make it a line that is affordable for the many, not the few. Because when Philip Hammond says, that if you work in a factory in Manchester you will never use it. But, not to worry, because you’ll benefit when your company director does. I’m sorry but that is a Tory vision for high speed rail, not a Labour vision. Philip Hammond may think it is a rich man’s toy, but I don’t. I know you don’t. And a future Labour government never will.

    So, Conference.

    We have a tough journey ahead of us.

    We’ve only just set out.

    So celebrating what we achieved. Recognising what we got wrong.

    We’ve started to chart a new course for transport.

    Putting communities in charge, here in Liverpool and across Britain.

    Tackling irresponsibility at the top.

    Backing British manufacturing, jobs and growth.

    Affordability, our number one priority.

    That’s Labour’s new direction for transport.

  • Angela Eagle – 2011 Speech to Labour Party Conference

    Below is the text of the speech made by Angela Eagle to the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool on 27th September 2011.

    It’s fantastic to be here at Labour Party Conference in Labour run Liverpool.

    We have a great venue here at the Echo arena and it’s just across the river from the centre of the universe – my own constituency of Wallasey.

    You know the first time I came to this great new place I was down there in the front row and one of my heroines Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders was up here performing. Well I won’t be attempting anything as brilliant or as loud as the Pretenders produced then because I’ve forgotten to bring my guitar. And anyway there might be a few sore heads in the hall after ‘Scouse night’.

    You know we are in a great city with a proud history of Labour representation.

    Those of you who came up on the train might have seen the statue of ‘Battling Bessie Braddock’ when you arrived at Lime Street. Bessie was the MP for Liverpool Exchange for 24 years and the first woman to represent Liverpool in Parliament. She was a passionate campaigner who did much to rid Liverpool of its slums. She fought poverty, hunger and unemployment all her life and she would have been delighted that our Conference was taking place in her city.

    A city Labour-led: revitalised under our Government after years of Tory neglect.

    And now I worry that those days are returning.

    ECONOMIC BACKDROP

    As Ed Balls, our Shadow Chancellor said yesterday, we are living through the darkest and most dangerous times in the global economy for many generations. And we need a serious response from this Government.

    But do you know what really makes me angry? It’s the Tories and their crude partisan propaganda about the economic challenges we face.

    This crisis wasn’t caused by Labour investing in schools and hospitals. It wasn’t caused by Labour deciding to regenerate cities like Liverpool either.

    It was caused by greed in the banking industry and a global failure to rein in the excesses. And every developed Western economy is now grappling with the consequences of those mistakes. And don’t let the Tories tell you any different.

    Because they argued for less regulation and now by making the wrong economic judgements, they’re making a bad situation worse.

    TORY-LED GOVERNMENT’S DAMAGING CHOICES

    Do you remember Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg posing for the cameras outside Number 10 after the election? Well 16 months later we are beginning to see the consequences of the values they both share and the political choices they have made together.

    And it’s not a pretty sight.

    Everyone agreed that the deficit had to be tackled but ferocious Tory austerity wasn’t the solution to the crisis, it was the price of Lib Dem seats in the Cabinet.

    Together both parties made a political choice to cut the deficit further and faster than was economically necessary and to start cutting before the recovery was secure.

    Last year they introduced spending cuts and tax rises that go further and faster than any other advanced economy except Iceland and Ireland. That has made us much more vulnerable as the global situation has worsened.

    And they also made a political choice to put women and children in the front line of those cuts. From closed Sure Start centres, cuts to child tax credits, and job losses, women are bearing the brunt of this Tory-led Government’s reckless economic experiment.

    What are the results so far?

    They have delivered the biggest squeeze in living standards since the 1920s.

    And up and down the country people are feeling the pain.

    Like the dinner lady I met in south London who has to work 1 ½ hours before she can even cover the cost of her bus fare to the job. Now she’s worried about this Government’s cuts to her tax credits.

    Or the security officer I met here in Liverpool. Barely paid the minimum wage but expected to remain on call through the night for no extra pay and be back in at work by 9.30 the following morning.

    The Daily Telegraph have just calculated that a middle income family of four living Kent will be £3,252 worse off this year alone!

    I’m told that this is almost the cost of a full uniform for the Bullingdon club. Loose change for the Prime Minister and Chancellor maybe but a hammer blow to already stretched household budgets.

    It is people and communities up and down this land that are suffering but the Tories just don’t get it. Their policies are making things worse.

    The economy flat-lining.

    Growth at a standstill.

    Unemployment on the rise.

    One in five of our young people abandoned to the misery of the dole queue.

    And the IMF see even greater dangers ahead.

    The warning signs are flashing red and yet the Chancellor just sits on his hands, the embodiment of preening complacency.

    This is the man who claimed last year that Britain was “out of the danger zone”.

    Only last month he announced that the UK was a “safe haven” in the economic storm.

    Now the Prime Minister warns of the global economy “staring down the barrel” but like a medieval physician bleeding an already weak patient, his only prescription is more austerity.

    They are addicted to austerity and their only response to the crisis is to try and export it.

    Ed Balls yesterday unveiled Labour’s five point plan for growth and repeated our commitment to sticking to a tough fiscal strategy to get the deficit down. But almost immediately the Tories dismissed it. Again showing they just don’t understand the urgent need to get our economy growing.

    But what of the Liberal Democrats?

    Well in Birmingham last week they were falling over themselves to criticise their Tory friends. The Coalition was even described by the Liberal Democrat President as a ‘marriage that would inevitably end in divorce’.

    Well, if only Nick Clegg had thought to include his promise on tuition fees in the pre-nuptial agreement.

    Some say it’s a marriage of convenience. To me it is more of a sleazy affair. Exciting while it lasts, but destructive and likely to end in total embarrassment.

    In Birmingham last week nobody was fooled by the Liberal Democrat’s cynically choreographed attacks on their own Government policy or their reheated announcements on tax evasion and executive pay.

    And however much they masquerade as the conscience in this rather peculiar ‘relationship’ they’ve got as much chance of surviving at the next election as Sarah Teather has of starting a career as a stand up comedian. And don’t just take my word for it, have a look on YouTube and you’ll see what I mean.

  • John Denham – 2011 Speech to Labour Party Conference

    Below is the text of the speech made by John Denham to the Labour Party Conference on 26th September 2011.

    Conference.

    Last week, in Birmingham, Vince Cable gave the Lib Dems what’s been described as the most depressing speech by a Cabinet minister in modern political history.

    I haven’t come to Liverpool to spread doom and gloom.

    You’re not Lib Dems. You haven’t come here to wallow in it.

    There’s no easy way forward.

    The deficit must be dealt with.

    World markets are in turmoil.

    The world we face is so fiercely competitive it will be harder than ever before to pay our way and build a better future for young people.

    But we know there is a way forward for Britain and its families.

    But first I have got a message for Vince Cable and the rest of the Tory-led Government.

    If you’re depressed, stop making things worse.

    Stop saying you will tax the banks and get them lending.

    When you know you’re cutting their taxes and they’re cutting their lending.

    You tripled university fees, scrapped the RDAs, slashed support for business. And you haven’t even paid out a penny from the Regional Growth Fund, 14 months since you launched it.

    You cut too far and too fast.

    Turned the entire department of growth into the department of stagnation.

    No wonder you’re depressed.

    Last week you said that 50 companies are going to get a hot line to ministers.

    It’s not 50 companies who need a hot line to ministers.

    It’s the entire British economy!

    I went to Bombardier in Derby. I asked three young apprentices about their future.

    One said “I want to go as far as I can. Mr Walton” – that’s Colin Walton the MD – “Mr Walton used to be an apprentice once.”

    That was the promise of Britain.

    Hard work taking you as far as your talent would allow.

    Each generation doing better than their parents.

    But Philip Hammond gave the Thameslink contract to Germany.

    Those young ambitions hang by a thread.

    You may be wondering why ministers won’t reopen the contract?

    It’s not because of the finer points of EU competition law.

    It’s because, in their heart of hearts, they think government should just stand by and watch.

    Stand by and watch while wages fall, jobs go, and companies suffer.

    But I tell you, Conference, in difficult times governments can’t just stand by and watch.

    Governments can shape the choices companies make; they can encourage investment in critical parts of the economy; they can use procurement to foster skills, innovation and new markets; they can create the transparency that brings fair pay.

    Governments can shape markets by the competition rules they set, the institutions they create for finance research and technology – and by their vision for the future.

    Conference, we can make the changes Britain needs; to build a different and stronger economy; in which good companies grow; and rewards are fairly shared.

    We say:

    If you’ve got a business idea; you work all hours; you make a go of it; make a million; we’ll cheer you all the way.

    But we won’t if you’re the director of a failing company who takes a million you don’t deserve.

    It’s not our job to run companies, but what Government does makes a difference to the way business leaders run their companies.

    In the economy we want, we will say the company that invests long-term is better for Britain than the one that just wants a quick buck.

    We will say the company with fair pay at every level is better for Britain than one with obscene rewards at the top and poverty pay at the bottom

    We will say the company that innovates is better for Britain than the company that sits back and exploits its monopoly.

    We will say the company that trains is better for Britain than one that just says someone else could do your job for less.

    These are the choices the best companies in Britain are already making.

    But some are not.

    Look at all the scams – from payment protection insurance to fuel bills no one understands, from hidden credit card charges to insurance referrals.

    They’ve all got one thing in common.

    There are people at the top who knew it was wrong.

    But they didn’t think it was their responsibility to stop it.

    But when prices are rising and wages are falling people can’t afford to be ripped off. It’s got to stop.

    So I’ve asked former Chief Executive of the National Consumer Council, Ed Mayo, to lead our investigation into how we can end the corporate cultures that con consumers.

    Conference, business has real concern about regulation. And the worst is regulation that holds good companies back, but doesn’t hinder the bad.

    So be very clear.

    We’ll tackle the bad.

    We’ll back the good.

    Griffon Hoverworks in my Southampton constituency sells the world’s best hovercraft – a British invention – to 40 countries around the world.

    There are thousands of British companies like that.

    In engineering, and in film, theatre and the arts;

    In life sciences and in architecture;

    In advanced manufacturing and in computer games;

    In fashion and in law and in IT;

    In finance yes, and green technologies.

    Companies run by people as bright and as inventive as any British people have ever been.

    But there are not enough of them.

    They aren’t big enough.

    And too often they get taken over before they grow.

    We will only pay our way in the world if those companies grow and prosper.

    And we will only pay our way if the world’s biggest companies also want to have a stake in Britain’s future.

    They don’t want government telling them how to run their business. But they don’t want government just to stand by and watch either.

    Ministers wasted a year on a growth plan so useless it’s already being re-written.

    So I’ll tell you what they should do now.

    Back Ed Balls’ five point plan for economic growth.

    Cut VAT and get the economy moving.

    Tax bank bonuses to build houses, create jobs for young people and back fast growing small business.

    Don’t stand by and watch.

    Do it now.

    Small businesses are hurting. If you can’t get banks lending, don’t just stand by and watch. Get the Green Investment Bank going now, reform the banks the public owns, and like Ed Miliband, Ed Balls and me, look at the case for a national investment bank.

    Listen to the CBI and unlock investment in greening and renewing the infrastructure for a new economy.

    Don’t just stand by and watch.

    Do it now.

    Get business round the table and agree where Britain will take on the world. Show how we will deliver the technologies, the capabilities, the skills to do it. Give them the confidence to invest.

    Don’t just stand by and watch.

    Do it now.

    Back Labour’s plans to cap fees and then tell every university in every region to concentrate on getting skills, technology and research to British business.

    And Vince – one more thing, when you celebrated the one bit of really good news all year – the investments in Nissan, BMW and JLR – didn’t you notice that in every one trade unions were full partners in that success; why not say that instead of just union bashing?

    Conference, when Ed Miliband asked me and the Shadow Business Team – Gareth, Gordon, Nia, Ian, Chi, Chuka, Tony and Wilf – he said get out and listen to thousands of businesses across Britain.

    Everything I’ve said today comes from things British business has said to us.

    From oil in Aberdeen to renewables in Wrexham.

    Chambers of Commerce in Norwich to car makers in Sunderland.

    Manufacturers in Leeds to bioscience in London.

    Hi-tech start-ups in Cambridge to banks in Birmingham.

    And it’s because of what they told us, not what we told them, that I can tell you that British business, working with Labour, can build a better future for Britain, can build a country where the promise of Britain is honoured once more.

  • Ray Collins – 2011 Speech to Labour Party Conference

    Below is the text of the speech made by Ray Collins, the then Labour Party General Secretary, to the party conference on 25th September 2011.

    Thank you Chair, and thank you Conference.

    This is the 38th consecutive Party Conference I have attended, and whilst I hope to be attending many more, this is my last Conference as your General Secretary.

    For many conferences now, you have heard me bang on about my priorities as General Secretary.

    I am afraid that, for one last time, I am going to bang on about them again here today.

    My priorities were threefold:

    – To put the Party on a stable organisational and financial footing.

    – To ensure that we are the Party of equality, advancing the cause of women, Black, Asian, and ethnic minority communities and other under-represented groups.

    – And to ensure we are a party of the future, with a growing and vibrant youth movement.

    Being General Secretary has given me the opportunity to meet and get to know many of the Party’s young activists. I have always believed that our young members are not just the leaders of tomorrow; they are important voices here and now.

    But it is only latterly that I have fully appreciated quite how capable those leaders of tomorrow are. I have endeavoured to support their work, and in response to their extremely persistent lobbying, agreed to fund a full-time Youth Officer in Head Office.

    I am also extremely proud to have worked – alongside a great many others – to ensure that we look like the country we seek to represent.

    There is very much more to do, and we must never be complacent about the future, but when I sit in the PLP, and look around me at our diverse, talented Labour benches, I feel an incredible sense of optimism.

    On the finances, you will see from the Treasurer’s Annual Report, quite how much progress we have made.

    In 2010, for the first time in many years, we fought a General Election without adding to the Party’s debt burden.

    Our finances forced us to be cleverer in our campaigning, deploying resources where they made the most impact.

    We lost, and we lost badly, but I honestly believe that as a Party we campaigned better and harder than we ever have before.

    And despite all the media predictions, we stopped the Tories achieving an overall majority.

    We have learned the lessons of that campaign by developing Project Gameplan, our strategy to win the next General Election.

    These lessons were learnt in many of the constituencies I had the pleasure to visit, campaigning with members on the doorstep.

    I know I should not single any out, but I do want to mention a few:

    – Chesterfield

    – Edgbaston

    – Islington South

    – Oxford West

    – And Hastings

    These are constituencies that know:

    – That engaging with voters on the doorstep is not something you only do at election time.

    – That ‘Will you vote Labour?’ is the last question you ask, not the first.

    – That there is no such thing as a safe Tory or Lib-Dem seat where there are dedicated activists determined to buck the trend.

    It is these lessons that underpin Refounding Labour. It is how we will become an organisation fit for purpose that will win the next election

    Under Ed Miliband’s leadership we can win.

    I look forward to playing my part in that victory, but also, in something of a departure for me, to being able to speak with my own voice in the House of Lords on issues dear to me, and to the rest of the country.

    It was my experiences as a child that first drew me to politics. The sudden death of my father at an early age meant my mother was faced with the loss of her husband, her home, and her household income in quick succession.

    She was determined to provide for her children, and her hard work and resolve secured our future.

    Yet hard work and resolve were not enough on their own. It was the Equal Pay Act that provided a level playing-field for women like my mother. It was changes in the law that gave my mother protection from exploitation, and it was changes in the law that enabled her to become an economically active individual, rather than dependant on the state.

    The politics is the personal, and we never resonate more than when we are supporting voters in their aspirations for themselves and their families.

    I want to wind up by saying a big thank you to all those who have supported me in my work as General Secretary.

    They are too numerous to mention individually, and I hope to thank them in person over the course of this week.

    But I do want to single out the Party’s staff, who are one of Labour’s greatest assets. They work tirelessly on behalf of the Party they love, and no General Secretary could have asked for more.

    I also wish to thank my husband, Rafael. He has put up with me working weekends and evenings for a very long time, and without his support, I would have been lost.

    The fact that I am able to call him ‘my husband’ is, for me, one of Labour’s greatest achievements in office. Thank you Rafa – for everything.

    But my greatest thanks are reserved for you, the Party members.

    The best bit of my job has been travelling to constituencies up and down the country, seeing the work that you do, knocking on doors, and making new friends.

    You are the lifeblood of our Party, and your passion for our country’s future is formidable to behold.

    I wish my successor as General Secretary, Iain McNicol, all the very best for the future.

    I know he will value you every bit as much as I do – indeed, it would be impossible not to.

    It has been my very great privilege to serve you as General Secretary, and I look forward to seeing you on the campaign trail.

  • Shaun Woodward – 2011 Speech to Labour Party Conference

    Below is the text of the speech made by Shaun Woodward to Labour Party conference on 29th September 2011.

    Conference, when history looks back on the great achievements of Labour in Government, the Peace Process in Northern Ireland will rank high.

    The visit of the Queen this year – the first by a British monarch since 1911 – marked both the end of one chapter and the start of the next.

    An enormous symbol of healing. Reconciliation. The new Bargain.

    The visit where, with President McAleese, the Queen laid a wreath in the Garden of Remembrance, which marks the Easter uprising of those who fought for Irish freedom.

    The visit which took in Croke Park, where 14 people were slaughtered by British troops in 1920.

    Highly symbolic. Deeply moving. Historic.

    Unimaginable twenty years ago.

    A reality in May this year.

    And Conference, can we take this opportunity to thank President McAleese for all she has done to build the bridges of peace. She leaves a great legacy. We wish her and Dr McAleese well.

    But there are new challenges. New troubles.

    For the whole island.

    The crisis faced by the economy of Ireland.

    Compounded by austerity cuts by the Tory Coalition, felt as harshly in Northern Ireland as any other part of the UK.

    You know the impact of this failing Government in your constituencies.

    The cuts too fast. Too deep.

    The waste – jobs being lost.

    Especially the young.

    And in Northern Ireland 1 in 5 young people, 18 to 24 year olds without a job. The worst figures in fifteen years.

    The failing gamble:

    The private sector failing to create jobs for those forced on the dole from the public sector.

    The consequence:

    The careless impact on public services.

    In hospitals, schools.

    Forecasts that 40,000 jobs are to be lost in Northern Ireland.

    People need help now.

    The First Minister and Deputy First Minister are working hard to bring foreign investment to Northern Ireland.

    There have been some new jobs.

    But their hard work is savaged by Coalition policy – not so much a helping hand as a succession of closed doors.

    And it really doesn’t help that the Secretary of State believes it a badge of honour to deny the First Minister and Deputy First Minister access to the door of Number 10. It doesn’t make him stronger.

    And it certainly leaves Northern Ireland weaker.

    The proposed cut in corporation tax is a huge gamble.

    It risks making a bad situation worse.

    The cut would be paid for by an annual £300 million cut – in Northern Ireland’s block grant.

    Trade unions are against the cut.

    Unions worried for the tens of thousands in the public sector who will pay for the cut with their jobs.

    In schools and hospitals.

    Our fear – it heralds a race to the bottom.

    No new private sector jobs – for those made redundant.

    What happens to them?

    The dinner lady on the dole? No prospects.

    The nurse? The lab assistant? The hospital cleaner? The scrap heap.

    I urge the Secretary of State to think twice before he leaps.

    We share the ambition to rebalance the economy in Northern Ireland.

    We need to know that the price won’t just be paid in the jobs of those – who through the years of the Troubles – never walked away.

    They need security for tomorrow.

    They too should be part of the bargain for tomorrow.

    Conference.

    You can’t just wish for a better future. You have to work for that future.

    And it requires trust.

    So keeping the promises in the Good Friday Agreement – including a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland matters.

    The Coalition’s decision – to renege on this commitment – is a huge error of judgement.

    It will be a running sore, until the Secretary of State understands and reverses his judgement.

    Commitments matter. Beware of breaking your promises.

    This time last year I asked the Secretary of State to honour the commitment by a former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, that there would be an Inquiry into the death of Pat Finucane.

    He promised his decision would be soon.

    No decision yet.

    Why are the family still waiting?

    If it is his intention to renege on the commitment, I urge him again, think again.

    Our promise made in good faith.

    It helped establish the trust to build the St Andrews Agreement.

    A huge gamble – assuming he decides against the Inquiry.

    It will have consequence.

    Northern Ireland will only be released from the grip of its past by dealing with the past.

    Renege – and you risk damaging foundations.

    In this new era, safeguarding the peace carries enormous risks.

    A heavy burden, borne by police officers of the PSNI.

    They do so without complaint.

    Their collective commitment to serve the community, regardless of risk, is quite simply heroic.

    Ask the family of Police Constable Ronan Kerr.

    Brutally murdered by dissidents earlier this year.

    We pay tribute to him. Our sympathy to his family.

    To the many police officers, and others, who face the new and continuing risks of very dangerous criminal behaviour. We give these brave men and women our thanks.

    We need to ensure that the world knows the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland have moved on.

    But we will not ensure lasting security by pretending the real dangers posed by increasing numbers of dissidents have gone away.

    More threats last year than the year before.

    More attacks.

    The bad will not prevail.

    But we cannot wish the bad away.

    Hard painful work.

    Good community relations.

    Jobs.

    Proving the dividends of the peace.

    And in tandem, Government must relentlessly mitigate the risks.

    It remains a challenge.

    The task of the British Government – and of the Opposition – is to ensure there is no quarter for those dissidents who would damage the politics.

    For the bad guys we must ensure they have no opportunity.

    This comes at a price.

    But it is a price government must pay.

    Conference, Northern Ireland has much to teach us today. It offers a wider palette from which we can paint our vision of the future, for the whole of our country.

    When Ed Miliband spoke on Tuesday about the need for a new bargain, new values and a better framework for our country, he significantly raised the game.

    Draw inspiration from what was achieved in Northern Ireland.

    In 1997 we dared to dream.

    We said there could be new rules. Better values.

    We defied the cynics.

    We set out to ensure values of fairness, justice and equality would have their place alongside seemingly irreconcilable individual freedoms and collective expressions.

    The peace process was built on a new bargain.

    The dream became a reality.

    The impossible, possible.

    Conference, the people of Northern Ireland are able to move on because of the new bargain.

    As we look to our own future, and what we can achieve for our country in that future, remember Northern Ireland.

    This achievement was built on better values, shared values, a better book of rules.

    It can be done. For in Northern Ireland it was done.

    Thank you.

  • Glenis Willmott – 2011 Speech to Labour Party Conference

    Below is the text of the speech made by Glenis Willmott to the 2011 Labour Party conference on 26th September 2011.

    Conference, it has not been an easy 12 months in Brussels.

    Bad news from Europe has been a constant feature of the daily news bulletins.

    First, the deepening financial crisis in Greece.

    Then, bailouts for Ireland and Portugal.

    And now the wider and still unfolding uncertainty across the entire eurozone.

    The implications of this turmoil for the future of the European Union are immense.

    And how the EU responds will define the fortunes of our continent for generations to come.

    But this is not just an economic and financial crisis.

    It is a crisis too for social democracy and a huge challenge for the left, in Britain and across Europe.

    I am often asked – does the recent chaos mean that the EU is somehow broken?

    Surely, I’m told, this is evidence that the Eurosceptics were right all along?

    And Conference, many of these views are increasingly coming from within our own party.

    Indeed some of you, here in this hall today, may sympathise with those sentiments.

    Well, what is clear is that the EU must change.

    There are real and crucial lessons that must be learnt.

    Efforts to promote economic cohesion across European economies were just not good enough.

    Government financial transparency was pitifully enforced.

    Rampant greed was allowed to take precedence over the wider needs of our economy.

    But what is also clear is that the supposed remedies to the current turmoil are making things worse, not better.

    And friends, this is where the real failure lies.

    In the hollow ideology being driven by the European right.

    Simply, they say, we must have less;

    – less investment in the technologies and industries of the future

    – less opportunities for our young people

    – less employment

    – less power for working people

    And not only is the right’s answer to the turmoil not working.

    It is also void of any ambition, aspiration or hope for our continent and its people.

    So what should our response be to the European crisis?

    Conference, the Left across Europe, is at its lowest ebb, since before the Second World War.

    As recently as 1999, we were in power, or sharing power, in 12 out of the then 15 EU countries.

    Today, despite Helle Thorning Schmidt’s great victory in Denmark that figure is just 8 out of the now 27 countries.

    And since the disastrous 2009 elections, the Left in the European Parliament is at its weakest ever.

    To paraphrase Harold MacMillan (you see even the quotes are from the right), “We’ve never had it so bad”.

    So why are we doing so badly?

    Conference, part of the explanation may be that the world our grandparents fought for, has in so many ways, been achieved.

    Free health care, universal education, systems of social benefits from cradle to grave, are established across Europe.

    Our generation has experienced increased opportunities, wider tolerance and greater freedoms.

    Since 1945, social democracy has led the way.

    We have achieved great things. But it really doesn’t feel like that.

    Partly, because we on the progressive left are never – and must never – be satisfied.

    But also because we have failed to move the debate on.

    Conference, the social democratic solutions which transformed the last century were forged amid the rubble of European war.

    Today we face ruins of a different sort.

    But once again, we, as social democrats, must stand together and rise to the new challenges that Europe faces.

    It is our duty to meet the growing demand for a different way of organising our societies;

    – to rebuild our economies

    – to deliver prosperity for the many

    – and to address increasing aspirations for fairness and equality

    Ed is right to say we have to refound Labour here at home.

    But that must be within the broader context of all of us refounding social democracy across Europe.

    Answers must come from all parts of our movement and beyond. From trade unions, intellectuals, academics, politicians, activists and single interest groups.

    But we also need to learn together with comrades in Denmark, Sweden, Germany and others too.

    So as Europe faces its greatest challenge since 1945 let’s not turn our backs.

    We must produce a new vision for social democrats, international in scale, since globally produced problems can actually, only be solved, globally.

    The answers cannot be for Labour in Britain alone.

    In this interconnected world Europe must be part of the solution.

    As always the driving force must be our enduring principles, our Labour values, the same values that drove those rebuilding Europe more than 60 years ago, values of

    – Solidarity

    – Social justice

    – Opportunity

    The strongest helping the weak

    Together, not apart

    That is how we will secure the future for generations to come.

  • Liam Byrne – 2011 Speech to Labour Party Conference

    liambyrne

    Below is the text of the speech made by Liam Byrne to the Labour Party conference on 25th September 2011.

    Conference.

    As we’ve gone around the country what’s become clear is that people are now seriously worried about what this Government is doing to their families, their communities and our country.

    This week is our chance to point to a different way now – and different possibilities for the future.

    That is the single aim of the Policy Review Ed Miliband has asked me to chair.

    After last year’s defeat, the easiest thing in the world would have been for us to turn in on ourselves.

    Gaze fondly, lovingly perhaps, at our navels.

    Sit around in a comfort zone.

    Argue amongst ourselves.

    Let’s be honest. Some of us quite like that.

    But under Ed Miliband, we have to do it differently.

    We’ve picked ourselves up.

    Dusted ourselves down.

    And got straight back out there once more, talking to people, who we came into politics to serve…

    About what we got right.

    What we got wrong.

    And how we need to change.

    What we have decided to do is go for the prize that no-one has achieved in British politics for 35 years.

    One-term opposition.

    A party determined to bounce back from defeat and back into office where we know we can make a difference.

    So I suppose I should give you the bad news.

    I know what many will want this week is a detailed 5 year plan.

    A new budget.

    Sorted out down to the last pound and penny.

    I know the hardest question I get on doorsteps in Hodge Hill is where’s the alternative? Where’s your plan? What would you do different?

    Sorry.

    The easiest thing in the world would have been to sit in a committee room in Westminster and write a new manifesto.

    But I can tell you now, it wouldn’t have got us very far.

    It wouldn’t have delivered one-term opposition.

    Because we can’t revise our policy, or reorganise our party, until we reconnect with the public.

    And that is what this first year of the Policy Review has been all about.

    We’ve taken the simple view: that policy has to start with politics and politics starts with people.

    And that is why we got back out there.

    Back in touch with over a million men and women, party members and affiliates.

    150 events.

    6,000 local residents, coming along in person.

    20,000 submissions pouring in to our HQ.

    And it’s not always been easy has it?

    You never quite know what you’re going to get.

    I’ve been doing policy review door to door in Hodge Hill.

    I won’t forget the man in Shard End, who I disturbed in the middle of his dinner.

    He came to the door. Wiped clean his moustache.

    And, how shall I put this?

    He confined his remarks to two words; it began with F, it ended with F, and there were five letters in between.

    I said, shall I put you down as against?

    But whether the conversations have been hard or easy, we’ve had them.

    People have been incredibly generous and personal in the stories they have shared.

    They’ve told us about their daily struggles.

    Their worries about balancing the bills.

    Their hopes for their kids. At school. At college.

    Their memories; their observations.

    Loves. Hates.

    But above all their common sense.

    People haven’t pulled their punches.

    They’ve given it to us straight.

    They thought we grew out of touch.

    They thought we got it wrong, on issues close to their heart.

    On immigration. On welfare. On control of banks.

    And that is why they’ve told us to change.

    I know at times this has felt like an exercise in gratuitous masochism.

    It isn’t.

    We can leave that to George Osborne.

    People don’t expect us to get everything right.

    But they do expect us to learn from experience.

    Their experience.

    Because for most people in this country, things are different from 1997.

    Life hasn’t stood still.

    Times have moved on.

    Challenges have changed.

    What we have heard from people is that there is a new centre-ground in British politics.

    It’s not a place that the party gets to pick.

    The centre-ground is where voters say it is.

    Our challenge now is to change and move in and say once more the centre-ground is our home-ground, and this is where we fight.

    Everything I’ve seen of the Tories tells us that we should be bullish if we choose to change.

    I think we can be a one-term opposition because of the people in the centre-ground; they’re under attack from a Conservative party, that is not on people’s side

    You can’t pretend that you’re on people’s side if you cut jobs, and childcare and tax credits.

    And damage people’s chances to work and pay the bills – or treat the kids – or take a holiday.

    You’re not on people’s side when you curtail the chances for children.

    And you’re not on people’s side if your idea of responsibility means firing 12,000 police officers, putting charities out of business and singling out as the people who need a tax cut, the bankers who got us into this mess in the first place.

    So this week is our chance to show that we’re the ones who get it.

    – That we’ve heard what people said.

    – That we’re up for the challenge of change.

    – That we are back on the side of the majority.

    This week, we’ll set out what we’ve heard about how people want a different economy not run on the old rules but new rules with a welfare state that works once again for working people.

    And we’ll say how we think change should begin.

    We’ll say what we’ve heard about the next generation.

    Remember education, education, education?

    It was an expression of our aspiration for youngsters.

    This week, we’ll say more about how we bring that aspiration back alive for new times – in education, in jobs, in housing.

    We’ll say where we think change should begin.

    We’ll say what we’ve heard about how good people in this country want to rebuild a responsible country, with rules that bite at the top, the bottom and at every point in between.

    And we’ll say how we think change should begin.

    So this first year is just a beginning.

    We put first things first because we know that Oppositions that stay in opposition look inwards, and not out.

    And that is why I’ve always said that my hope is that this policy review will change the way we make policy.

    Not in committee rooms in Westminster.

    But through conversation with the public, our members and affiliates.

    I know we and I need to work harder to get these debates out of here.

    So if you want me to come along and listen, wherever you are, I’d be delighted. Give me a ring.

    Because over the next week and over the next year, we’ll begin to set out the new ideas we think are right for the future.

    New ideas for the new centre-ground.

    New ideas that reflect one simple philosophy.

    That for most people in this country, politics is about the personal.

    It’s about how you get on at work.

    It’s about the safety of your community.

    The education for your kids.

    The care for your parents, your husband, your wife.

    It’s having the chance to earn a better life, to get the good things in life, to live free of fear.

    In other words, politics is about the most important things in the world.

    In everything I read this year, no-one put it better, than a guy called Andrew, from Newcastle upon Tyne who wrote this:

    “People want straight answers from politicians not avoidance or waffle. Talk like people, on the street, in the pubs, in the factories and offices and give straight honest answers. Try to make Britain a fair society.”

    That’s our test.

    So I think if we get the politics right; if we’re passionate about how politics can make a difference, then and only then will the right policy follow.

    That’s the way we earn back the trust to serve.

    Get that right – and we’ll win.