Gordon Brown Speech

I listened with some emotion to Gordon Brown's speech today. In his own way - and with the scene set so powerfully by Peter Mandelson yesterday - I think he has delivered a defining political moment, in the same way as Kinnock did with his attack on Miltant back in the 80s.

Until you hear it listed out, we risk forgetting what we have achieved since 1997. And at long last there was some vision of what more we can deliver. To pick out a few things that really matter to me, clamping down on the dangerous behaviours of investment bankers, electoral reform and a focus on citizen safety. Asking the most well off in our society to pay a bit more in tax is the right thing to do. So is our approach to maintaining investment in public services and manufacturing, training for our young people, and climate change.

The difference between us and the Tories is getting clearer and clearer by the day. It really is time to ask them questions about their priorities. Exactly how does giving £200k back to the 3000 wealthiest people in the country create a fairer society?

I loved the line about "change has consequences". Electing a Tory government will take us back to the despairing days of the 1980s when - for most people - life was about living with public service cuts, unemployment and dead end jobs whilst the self-selecting few prospered. And at last week's LibDem conference we finally got to see what their alternative offered - "savage cuts" - going further than even the Tories so far.

Jack Straw got it absolutely right in his fightback comment to Labour's critics on Radio 5 yesterday: "..... be careful what you wish for."

I'll not be leaving it to wishful thinking. My team will be out campaigning in Merkinch at the weekend. Maybe see you there.

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INBS Labour Party determined to Win

Much media talk over the weekend about the lack of determination to win in the Labour Party. Well anyone who doubts that we are ready and willing for the "fight of our lives" at next year's election should have been on Inverness High Street on Saturday afternoon when a team of enthusisatic Labour activists handed out hundreds of leaflets highlighting Danny Alexander and the LibDem's plans for "savage cuts".

Its been a Labour government that intervened to help people through the recession. Not just because it was the right thing to do but because it is in our instincts to do so. The Conservatives took the decision to do nothing - to let the recession take its course. And today they would use the financial crisis as an excuse to cut support for jobs and families, because that is in their instinct too. Seems it is a LibDem instinct as well!

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LibDems plan Savage Cuts in Public Expenditure

We are used to finding it hard to pin down LibDem policy on most issues. Now, on public expenditure, we finally know exactly where they stand. In Nick Clegg’s own words “"I have said there will need to be cuts, cuts that are savage and bold.” Even the Tories have not gone this far (yet).

The Highland economy is already facing a tough public expenditure regime - the Council is looking to trim its budget by £60m over the next 3 years - as we start to pay the price of the SNP's political programme. The impact of further "savage" cuts will be severe.

Danny Alexander is right at the heart of such plans. As Nick Clegg’s Chief of Staff, he has responsibility for drafting the LibDem manifesto for the election. In Danny's own words (Inverness Courier, 30th June) "spending cuts will hit the poor hardest". For years, the LibDems have been lining up to demand new services and programmes and criticising Labour when we have had to make difficult decision on spending priorities. Now we know exactly what they are planning to do if they get into power - or into coalition with the Tories - "savage" cuts!

Danny Alexander is carrying Cleggs’ knife in the Highlands. We must get organised to stop him.

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Child Protection

This article in today's Guardian by Polly Toynbee is well worth reading. In all the media furore about political correctness, it captures for me exactly why Ed Balls is right to push through this legislation. Parents must be able to be confident that the people they DON'T know who are in contact with their kids on behalf of schools and clubs have passed a simple check. It won't cost volunteers anything and it simplifies the current system by putting all the checks in one place. On this issue, John Humphreys and others on Radio 4/5 should stop attacking politicians and start giving them some credit.

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1010

Inspired today to sign up for the Guardian's 10:10 campaign. BIg picture political campaigns to save the planet risk making us feel good about the headline targets whilst assuming it will all just happen through what the government does. Committing to reduce my households carbon footprint by 10% by the end of 2010 makes it very personal. Now we need to work out how to make it happen.......

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