I’m grateful to Gordon Brown for steering the economy through the difficult waters we all encountered in recent years.  It was a very tough ride for the government, when the world economy teetered on a precipice it was imperative that government made the right decisions.  Difficult decisions that were monumental in terms of negating the impact on all of us.  I’m glad Gordon Brown was in the position to make the decisions. While his were correct and accurate Cameron/Osbourne made all the wrong calls in opposing them.  No-one lost their savings, there were few repossessions and people were protected, however the next two years will demonstrate if the Tories are as brutal as they said they would be.

Having lost the election, the Labour party now needs to make a decision about the future.  The party has enjoyed a massive membership boost, which is remarkable, very useful and extremely welcome.  The Tories did not win outright and are Liberally compromised, meanwhile Labour are a healthy size and shape to present a convincing opposition and fight a comeback.  This presents a fertile platform where the ground is prepared beautifully for the next leader to build from the successes of the past without being tied to anything or anyone.

The leadership debate has energised and excited the local party structures, everyone wants a hustings near them, everyone wants to debate who it should be and why.  It’s a sure sign of the vulnerability of the coalition that they wish to change the rules in Parliament to prevent MPs kicking them out.  This is a weak government.  Alongside this there were many gains in Local Government for the Labour Party, winning back control over Leeds city council from a Lib-Con coalition to name one.

It’s also a great sign of the health of the party that the Miliband brothers are standing against each other.  Wonderful in that in the future we wont have factions, we will have healthy debate and then unity in the party, where differences evaporate in the pursuit of common goals.  The Labour movement will be stronger and better for it, with a more coherent understanding of itself and what it can achieve and all our roles in that.

I’m going to back David Miliband and my reasons are simple.  He has the head start of being a household name and many friends of mine and people on the doorstep said they would vote Labour if he was the leader.  I don’t think we can underestimate the reach a candidate needs to have with the wider public, David Miliband is streets ahead of other candidates on this front.  Why is this?  Well I think that people relate to him easily and quickly, naturally trust him, he comes across as extremely clever but is accessible.  He has developed a reputation with foreign leaders and from his ministerial experience has the international credibility necessary to lead the country, he is statesman-like and impressive.  But most of all it is because I think people would vote for him, and I want to see a Labour government back in power.

I do think Ed Miliband is brilliant, he’s a passionate communicator – in conferences, meetings and on the TV and wildly talented in policy and governance, you cannot doubt his abilities and commitment.  However he has not had the level of exposure and media coverage as his brother.  These two brothers could both unify the party and maximise on Labour’s opportunities, but David for me is the front runner.

Whoever wins, this is an exciting time which is an opportunity for growth.  Learn more, sign up to David’s campaign AND join the Labour party by clicking this link.   http://www.davidmiliband.net/

I’ve been given the opportunity and privilege of standing as a candidate for Labour in the Leeds city council ward of Horsforth.  The election excitement is enhanced because it’s being held at the same time as the general election, Horsforth is within the marginal constituency of Pudsey where Jamie Hanley is fighting to keep the seat Labour, closely challenged by the Tories.  We had a very special visitor to the ward on Thursday, Eddie Izzard – a big Labour supporter, comedian, film star and marathon man – came to Horsforth and took a walk with me and Jamie around the town.  We took a route from the campaign office up to Town Street where we walked around Morrisons meeting voters and staff, causing quite a stir…

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Video-Comedian-Eddie-Izzard-talks.6250200.jp

Below see Eddie Izzard giving me a funny personal endorsement…  Enjoy…

So the game is on, four weeks today until the country decides about the future of our nation and what a decision it is to make.  Over the past couple of years we have witnessed enormous changes to our economic security.  Members of the public, not all fluent in economics, seem nervous in the face of the decision over which party can lead us towards growth.   A bit like a jury deciding on a complex fraud case in a court, here the public have the fate of the nation in their hands on a very complex and technical subject.  No surprise then that many are still undecided.  There are three main concerns:

1: Gordon Brown led us into the economic recession – how can I vote for him?

He was in charge when the whole world was plunged into a banking crisis but has managed the recovery well to date.  His priorities have been to keep people in their homes, get young people into work as quickly as possible, safeguard public services and keep spending money so that people had cash in their pockets.  This is widely held to have been a success in limiting the effect of the recession.  A global phenomena, the downturn would have happened whomever was in power at the time, Gordon Brown was in the eye of the storm steering the ship, we’re still standing if not a bit battered and bruised.  He’s taken some of the blame by virtue of being in post through a very difficult time.

2:  To spend or not to spend – Gordon Brown wants to get us into more debt

Although we’re now on the way up and out people are also unsure to vote Labour in case Gordon Brown’s economic plans prove wrong in the future.  The debt is a concern.  Think though that the Tories wanted to stand back and let the market crash take care of itself.  If they were in government how many people would have lost their savings, their jobs and homes costing the tax payer enormously in state service provision and benefits?  The country would have been by now on its knees, their record by now would have been devastating.

3:  Surely big cuts are necessary – at least the Tories are being decisive

Today the Tories are championing a £6 billion cut as some sort of panacea.  This means massive and immediate public sector job losses because the ‘waste’ they are describing are real people with homes and mortgages.  Vastly fewer employees means fewer tax receipts and till receipts in shops.  It means higher unemployment and benefits and without any job creation to compensate it means a worse situation for businesses, fewer public services and key services for vulnerable people.  Basically the Tories would panic, pull out support en masse and cause more economic shocks to reverberate.  Labour would cut spending in a more controlled way and have demonstrated to date they can manage the crisis whilst safeguarding the rest of the economy.

With such a choice at the election therefore, the public – the jury – need to make a careful judgement about who they believe will lead us out of the recession with resolve and careful planning, taking care to protect the vulnerable and disadvantaged and who will simply make wholesale cuts without thinking through their impacts on individuals, families and jobs.  Remember also that the Tories are interested in the wealthier and more privileged and so will not take time to consider the plight of the single parent family dependent on tax credits or their low paid part time job.  Their cuts will be cruel.  Controlled spending is necessary, however worrying, to protect what we all have and Labour is the only party steadfast in the face of the challenge ahead.

I watch in horror today as the bereaved mother of a dead solider is presented to the media to criticize Gordon Brown’s handwriting and question his intention and sincerity.  The Sun newspaper banner framing the shot conjures up images of Sun newspaper journalists snickering together, at that very moment, gleefully enjoying the spectacle they have created…

What a despicable thing for a newspaper to do to a woman who has lost their son, a time when a person is desperately trying to come to terms with their suffering and loss, with the blackness of bereavement sinking in, the reality that they will never see their son again and trying to do so with some dignity.  The Sun has exploited this woman in her darkest hour citing a clearly well intentioned letter, attempting to humiliate the PM.  These are crude, bully boy tactics in a situation requiring great delicacy.  Do the Sun think the general public are stupid?  They saw that the Sun shifted it’s allegiance to the Tories at a moment carefully timed to undermine Gordon Brown after his conference speech, you can be sure that they see this act for what it is, a very cruel abuse of a grieving mother for political ends.  The BBC news reports that their emails and texts are mainly in support of Gordon Brown in terms of his good intentions.

But I’m not surprised at their cruelty.  In very emotive subjects they like to fuel the fire rather than report a balanced picture – I remember over ten years ago at a time when there was a debate over Japan granting an apology for events in the war decades before, they published a picture of a Japanese person distorted beyond recognition to play to people’s stereotypes and fears, and stir the basest and most unhelpful emotions up to the surface.  Their level of acceptability has simply not moved on from these tactics.

There is nothing worse than feeling that you have hurt and wronged a grieving person, it is a time when each bereaved person deserves respect and space, and heartfelt sympathy and support.  I don’t doubt that this mother was offended by a lack of sentiment in the letter or by other means which she has reason to complain about, and this should be heard.  However the Sun newspaper lending their ear and making a public spectacle of it is exploiting her for their own ends at this time and unlike GB’s gaffe however hurtful, is fully intentioned and politically targeted

The bin strike in Leeds rumbles on, now in its eighth week, even the Prime Minister has called for both sides to find a solution to end the dispute for the people of Leeds whose overflowing bins are bringing both misery and health concerns, amid fears it could continue to Christmas.

But the issue is not simply a pay-cut issue in difficult economic times, although it is reported that the council wish to cut workers’ pay by a third in a wage barely over £17000 per year. The council have argued that due to Equal Pay legislation and job evaluation exercises, they have assessed the role as equivalent to that of women doing a less well paid role and rather than raising women’s pay, they want to cut the pay of (mainly male) refuse workers instead. This is a gross misapplication of the Equal Pay ethos which is designed to address the endemic failure in society to pay women the same rate as men. Equal Pay provided legal means to ensure that ‘women’s work’ can be raised to its appropriate standing and tackle inequality.

This is then an abuse of the spirit of the law which is intended to protect women, providing a callous pay-cut justification to a council wishing to save money, so hundreds of men will suffer as a result. Not only are their wages being cut but at the same time society is sending them a message about their worth and value at a time when it should be helping those on low pay to remain in their homes and to keep the economy moving.

But of equal concern is how the laws intended to provide equality to women are being subverted. So along with the plight of hundreds of men there is a feminist case to defend in the refuse collector’s strike action. We cant allow legislation intended to raise women’s pay be used to justify paying both genders the lowest common denominator.