Ideas matter for Labour more than ever – I want to hear your one idea for the manifesto

July 31, 2009 8:58 am

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New IdeasBy Ed Miliband MP

It’s great that you’re doing this ideas day on LabourList. More than at any other time in my political lifetime, I am conscious that the future is not yet written.

At the next election the Labour Party must be ready with a vision of the kind of society we want to see. We’ve got to ensure that our vision is reflective of the differing needs of the British people.

In the last ten years I know that as a party we have delivered real help to people from all walks of life. But how many parents regret that they missed their kids’ upbringing because they still feel they couldn’t leave work? How many of us know older people – our parents, our grandparents, our neighbours – who are leading longer lives, who are worried about being isolated and the costs and burdens of being cared for? How many of us know young people who don’t have their voice heard and feel that society has nothing to offer them?

The politics and the institutions we build must speak to their lives. We’ve made real progress in these areas, but there is more to be done.

That’s why I am really pleased you’ve dedicated this day to ideas. I am looking forward to reading the articles you’ll be publishing but also readers’ own comments and ideas; it would be great if people could tell me their one idea for the manifesto in the comments section below. You can also log onto LabourSpace.com to start your campaigns.

Tell me what you think, let me know your ideas and let’s build a manifesto that speaks to lives of people throughout this country. Together we can make change happen.

LabourList will aggregate, discuss and poll the ideas submitted over the summer.

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