Gordon Brown Speech
Tuesday 29 September 2009
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.
