Dr Mary MacAndrews, Secretary of State for Education and Skills and contender for leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister, attended a Labour First event in Birmingham Yardley, a seat Labour lost to the Liberal Democrats after holding it for 9 years. She is joined on stage by Estelle Morris, the former MP for the seat, John Spellar MP, founder of Labour First, and Labour party activists.*
Good afternoon, and thank you for inviting me to speak today,
I would first like to pay tribute to John Prescott and Charles Kennedy, two giants of British politics. I am certain that their presence will be missed and their constituents will sorely miss their fierce defenders in Parliament.
Our party stands at a crossroads. We have been given the chance of a second successive Labour majority government for the first time in history, never before have we been given this opportunity to affect real change for Britain, to continue to undo the damage inflicted on the fabric of our nation by the Conservatives over eighteen long years. But the British people have returned us to Government with a clear message: get your act together or we will get rid of you. In 1997, our party was swept into power with a mandate no party has seen for decades and we got to work, but we allowed ourselves to become complacent. Our massive majority was awe inspiring and we allowed ourselves to become victims of spin and style, of petty personality clashes that became tiring to the British people. We must do better.
That is why I am pleased to officially announce that I am running to be the next leader of the Labour party and next Prime Minister. It is a daunting task, but a task I intend to take head on and get to work immediately.
After a bruising election where we lost incredibly talented MPs - turns to look at Estelle you will be missed from Parliament Estelle - after losing so many MPs it is essential that we evaluate and put in a plan of action to get the Labour Party back on track and the Government back to work. The plan must start at diagnosing the cause of the fall in our support, and I believe that to be the petty personality conflicts between members of the Government. It became easy to see enemies around every corner when we were surrounded by colleagues and friends. It became easy to attempt to spin our way out of a problem instead of tackle it head on. It became an easy way out, and it annoyed the British people and they made it clear they wanted it to end, but they made it clearer that they wanted a Labour Government committed to delivering more teachers, nurses and policemen, they wanted a Labour Government investing in public services, improving schools, building the economy and investing in jobs and training. That is the Government I intend to lead as your next Prime Minister, one that is committed to delivering for Britain, not on personality differences.
I am confident that we can turn the tide again and restore the trust we have lost with the British people and take back the seats that we lost in the election. The people of this country need a Labour government to protect the public services we all depend on, to invest in jobs and schools and our NHS. We will win back seats like Birmingham Yardley.
When we were elected to Government in 1997 we not only gained access to the levers of power after eighteen years in the political wilderness, but we carried on our backs the hopes and dreams of an entire generation. The people cheering Tony Blair’s unprecedented win were not just exhausted party activists but a wide cross section of society, working people and professionals in the public, voluntary and private sectors, democrats, liberals, socialists; people who had suffered discrimination or social exclusion, people angry at injustice. A coalition of forces came together to end eighteen years of Thatcherism that left people out in the cold.
We have come too far to allow that coalition to fall apart now or to allow this coalition to be torn apart by an orthodoxy that threatens the integrity of the Labour movement that is the only real vessel for progressive politics in britain. If we are to keep Britain moving forward, we must not forget how we brought that coalition together and we must revisit our purpose if we are to continue to deliver the progressive politics that coalition sought after so many years. As leader of this party I will never forget who got us where we are now.
As an educator across my professional career, and as Education Secretary, I have seen how education is the great equaliser, and a good education can lay the foundations for a good life. I will continue to long-held Labour commitment to expanding education provision. There must be ongoing access to education for all and the spread of ambition and expectations to every level of society. It is an unfortunate reality that those born into wealth continue to have the best chance at material and social success. If we are to change this, and expand the opportunities to all then we must redouble our efforts to provide comprehensive education that gives every child equal opportunity to realise their dreams and to succeed in life.
As Prime Minister we will deliver on our manifesto commitment to hire 10,000 more teachers. We will invest in early years education because children will be more successful the earlier it is achieved. We will expand the Sure Start programme giving greater support and access to families with children at a young age because the first three years of a child's life are absolutely critical in determining the chances they have subsequently. These policies will continue the great work we have already achieved and will build a stronger education system for all.
For too long our political system has been riven with sleaze and scandal. All parties must share equal blame on this score and I take the job of cleaning up our politics very seriously. With the recent vote in the Commons on cronyism I take the message Parliament has sent very seriously, and I am glad that the Committee on Standards in Public Life will begin an investigation into recent appointments. I voted against the motion for I believed it to be a partisan move to embarrass the Prime Minister, and that I would not stand for. It would be inappropriate to pass judgement on someone before the full facts were known. None of the opposition speeches during that debate convinced me that they were in pursuit of fairness and justice, but purely a fight to score cheap political points.
If we are to clean up British politics and restore the lost trust of the British people we must move beyond this cat and mouse game in politics and come together, as the elected representatives of our country and reach a solution. I will commission an independent inquiry into the appointments system in the United Kingdom and implement their findings and recommendations. The inquiry will be given a mandate and independence to ensure they can complete this task.
As Prime Minister I will lead a Government that is renewed and re-dedicated to delivering for Britain. I believe that the losses we suffered in this election were not a rebuke of the policies we have pursued for four years but on the personality clashes that followed. We must turn away from these divisions, and united once more as a party, as a Government and as a nation for the work that we have left to complete is far too important to allow the Conservative a chance to get back into power and take our country backwards. Join me in leading our nation forward.
Thank you.
*Permission given by Max
