Why I’m backing David Miliband for leader

By Robert Peaty

The Conservatives may not have won the election, but Labour certainly lost it. Labour’s vote tally was 8.6 million. Just 200,000 more than Labour got with Michael Foot as leader in 1983. Most shocking of all, as David Miliband has noted, is that in the South outside of London Labour hold only 8 seats. In the East of England they have just 2. Prior to the election there were 29 Labour seats in the South and 13 in the East. If Labour is to ever hold power again it needs to win back these seats. Labour can only do this if it looks to the future and presents itself as a party with a vision for the country. David Miliband can do this.

David Miliband has noted that, outside of London, England lacks the regional power enjoyed by the rest of the UK. It is vital that Labour presents itself as the party who will give power to people and communities; if we can do this we can restore the faith of people, particularly in the South, who think Labour has abandoned them. Despite being dubbed the establishment candidate, David is not afraid of controversy. David stated that in some areas the state is too big. This has led to derision from many within the party, though the example he gave of a father not being allowed to take three children to a swimming pool is a perfectly reasonable example of the state taking too large a role.

David also refuses to be drawn into the race to the bottom that some of the other leadership candidates engage in, trying to distance themselves from New Labour’s mistakes. Obviously I don’t agree with everything Labour did in government but I am not going to be won over by candidates who focus on what Labour did wrong now, but did nothing at the time to try and stop it. It is time to look to the future, which David is doing. David is also clear in his support for AV something that Andy Burnham ignorantly describes as a ‘peripheral’ issue. Andy appears to be more concerned with scoring points against the Lib Dems, who secured the referendum on AV in the coalition agreement, than doing the right thing.

So what does Labour need in a leader? Any Labour supporter wants to see Labour back in power. So in a nutshell someone who can be Prime Minister. That’s why I support David Miliband to be leader.