Rallying for Labour | Progress | News and debate from the ...

Yesterday evening, through the less-than-welcoming weather, hundreds of activists came together at the Manchester Comedy Store to listen to what can only be described as a superstar line-up of our most inspiring progressive voices at the annual Progress Rally.

The rally took place against the backdrop of an ill-judged, and terribly timed intervention from Len McCluskey, which called for all ? cuckoos? to be expelled from the Labour party. However, the hundreds of Progress members and activists I saw last night had come together at the rally with one goal in mind ? to ensure a win for Labour in 2015.

Andrew Adonis was a formidable warm-up act, who spoke passionately about the need for policies which resonate with young people. He got big applause for his big ideas on revolutionising the way we help to get more young people into apprenticeships, so they get the same assistance as someone who applies to university. The audience were left inspired, and I think a fair few will be buying his new book Education, Education, Education ? which I?ve been told is a must-read by the principal of my local academy.

Tessa Jowell, the real hero of this summer of sport, reflected on why the success of the Olympic and Paralympic Games was a win not only for Britain but for progressive politics. Through the 10 years it took to get ready for the Games, Tessa argued that Labour had proven that public-private initiatives can work, and that the sustained support for the bid was buoyed by our decision to allow communities to make the Games their own, and capture the Olympic spirit.

Ben Bradshaw, one of a few few remaining MPs in the south, stressed that the Labour party should not be arguing about who can or can?t be a member, but we should throw open our arms to as many people as possible to ensure that we remain the party of new ideas. Similarly, he spoke about our need to target not only the disengaged traditional Labour voters and angry former Lib Dems, but the people who chose to vote Conservative in 2010. Without this goal in mind, he argued that we will never recapture the south ? the battleground for the next election.

Our shadow secretary of state for communities and local government Hilary Benn warned the assembled crowd of the next great reckoning for politics in the UK. He reflected on the collapse of the failed banking system, and the imploding Murdoch press as the two great reckoning we?ve dealt with in this parliamentary term. However, we?re now to face the next reckoning ? the public?s lack of confidence that politics can change things for the better. The challenge to us as progressives is to change that view every time we?re on the doorstep and in our local communities.

Progress president Stephen Twigg outlined the three challenges he sees to our party?s success in the next election. First, we must ensure that Labour is truly rooted in every community by going beyond voter ID to campaigning on the issues that really matter to residents. This way we ensure that we?re genuinely outward-looking. Second, he spoke of the absolute necessity to make sure that at a grassroots level bureaucracy never gets in the way of turning new members into key activists. Finally, we must throw ourselves wholeheartedly into making sure the Labour Supporters? Network is a success. And I saw members? eyes light up at the prospect rewarding supporters by reforming our party to give them more say in the future.

Douglas Alexander, who rushed in from the rain to the stage, stressed that we must have policy that people will vote for ? including a fiscal realism. He spoke of his hope that Ed Miliband will be running the country in 2015, but reminded us all that Labour will have to deal with the consequences of the cuts made. Ed simply cannot promise to set about reversing a term?s-worth of savings measures. The public know that tough choices will still need to be made, but in order to win their votes for Labour he argued that they need more than a politics of hate. We need a politics of answers that speaks to our 40 million voters ? not a narrow window of the population.

The PCC candidate for Merseyside, Jane Kennedy, reminded us that in the upcoming weeks as the nights get darker and colder, we must remember the positives of police and crime commissioners. Jane has pledged that if she wins she will join forces with all our Labour PCCs, our MPs and councillors, and will refuse to let David Cameron forget about the 20 per cent police cuts that are affecting our communities right now. And with the 15th of November looming closer, she encouraged everyone to volunteer in their region to ensure the voices of our PCCs are as loud as possible when they?re banging on the door at 10 Downing Street.

Caroline Flint, our party champion for the south-east, talked about her experiences on the doorstep not only in her own constituency in Doncaster, but in key marginals in the south. She argued that retreating to our comfort zone would spell disaster for Labour, especially when, increasingly, the issues raised by residents are mirrored across the north-south divide. However, what is not reflected is the higher rates of private sector jobs and homeownership that the north must have to regenerate. She argued that, rather than disregarding them, we need to work as a party to make the rest of the UK a bit more like the south.

David Miliband spoke of his pride to be on the Progress platform, and the commitment shared by each and every individual in the room to see Ed win for Labour at the next election. He also reminded the audience that a centre-left policy is what we need in order to have the opportunity to govern, and cannot ignore fiscal responsibility and reform of the state. He made an appeal to the entirety of the Labour party to recognise that it would be irresponsible of Ed to make promises on the cuts he couldn?t keep and to support his big ideas that will take us into government in 2015, reviving the biggest cheer of the night.

Chuka Umunna closed the speeches, with the admission that he was a ?Progress Rally virgin? but proud to be able to address the crowd with a firm belief no one group or individual has the monopoly on good ideas. He also proposed that a major reason for the failure of the government is that the Tories saw Labour?s 1997 landslide as no more than a rebranding exercise. However, as Progress members are acutely aware, there was serious heavy-lifting and reform undertaken. And because the Tories just don?t get it he?s confident we?ll be seeing a one term government.

The thing that stood out for me as I listened to the speeches was that, despite posturing earlier this year, all the speakers and every member of Progress has no interest in cuckoos, larks or nightingales for that matter. We?re concentrated on the task at hand ? providing policy for a winning Labour government, and ensuring our engagement is bedded in our communities. We don?t need kicking out of the nest ? we?re already out flying the flag for Ed on the doorstep and beyond.

Rachel Hodson is a member of the Progress strategy board and a councillor in Doncaster

Andrew Adonis, Ben Bradshaw, Caroline Flint, Chuka Umunna, David Miliband, Douglas Alexander, Hilary Benn, Jane Kennedy, Labour, Progress, Progress Rally, Stephen Twigg, Tessa Jowell

Source: http://www.progressonline.org.uk/2012/10/01/rallying-for-labour/

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