All of us connected to Labour know how vital this leadership debate is to our future.  Too often in this party we tear ourselves apart when we should be piecing ourselves back together.  This is a time for optimism.

It’s good that we sometimes disagree.  We should celebrate that our party welcomes so many talented and principled men and women with different views on how we can turn our fundamental desire for fairness into action and inclusion.  But we are mature enough to be able to conduct this debate openly and thoroughly without letting our differences turn into the bitter divisions that have dogged our recent history.

I hope each us of can recognise and celebrate the qualities that each of the candidates will bring to this contest, qualities that have energised so many to come home to Labour and rejoin the party.  More than anything I hope that we can do so with full respect for the decisions our comrades reach as we each make our choice. (more…)