A Fairer Britain
There's no denying the past few months have been tough for Labour.
The credit crunch and rising food and fuel prices have been causing pain right across the globe and. But on Tuesday we saw a turning point as Gordon Brown delivered the speech of his life.
He set out what drives both the Labour man and the Labour movement – fairness. That one term encapsulates everything the Party stands for: the pursuit of equality. Equality of education, equality of healthcare, opportunity, standard of living and so on. Fairness through ground breaking measures like the minimum wage, tax credits and pension credit. The simple idea that everyone is entitled to a fair crack of the whip irrespective of where they were born, who their parents happen to be or how rich they are.
That aspiration to fairness and equality is written into the DNA of the Labour Party and it is upon that principle that we must stand.
Policy wise I was pleased to see the announcement of free nursery places for all two year olds – I know a lot of young parents will appreciate the freedom this will give them to get back to work. Particularly exciting was the announcement of free broadband for children in low income households – in today's information society access to the web is fundamental to fully engaging with the modern world. I will look forward to seeing the detail on this one as I know a lot of kids in Hastings and Rye stand to benefit.
I just want to briefly contrast this idea of fairness with that which was the headline grabber at the Lib Dem conference last week: tax cuts. It's nothing more than rehashed Tory policy that translates as cuts to public services. Is that what we really want again? An NHS struggling for money and doctors, crumbling school buildings, rotten textbooks, poorly paid teachers and fewer bobbies on the beat? What happened to the party which at the last election promised to tax the wealthy to invest in society? The grassroots must be fuming.
I'll say one thing for the Lib Dems, they have truly given the British public a clear cut choice. Their Tory-lite policy turn means we now have two parties trumpeting a cuts to public services agenda while Labour is out there alone pushing the idea of investment in services, opportunity and fairness.
It is now my job and that of the Labour Party to make our case and convince Britain the fair way is the right way.
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Weather for Hastings
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 13 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: West
