To Help Everyone Get On

Andrew Rawnsley is participating in today's game of Atrocious Broadsheet "Journalism" by claiming that Andy Burnham was Health Secretary at the time of the Mid-Staffordshire scandal, when in fact that report came out in March 2009 and Burnham attained that position in June 2009.

But Andy Burnham himself writes:

Since our devastating defeat, Labour has done some painful soul-searching.

I have gone straight to the difficult issues I heard on the doorstep – the deficit, immigration and benefits – because we won’t win until we regain the public’s trust on them.

But this doesn’t mean copying the Tories. Labour wins when we are better than they are.

We know the best way to bring down the social security bill is to tackle low pay and Britain’s dysfunctional housing market. Facing up to our weaknesses is essential.

But it has given the leadership debate a negative feel. The time has come to lift people with a bigger vision.

That is what I will do, starting on Monday, with the first of five speeches putting my stamp on the party.

I will confront a straightforward question: in the 21st century, what is Labour for? My answer is simple: to help everyone get on.

The word “aspiration” has dominated the election aftermath.

This is because our manifesto, while strong on inequality and insecurity, did not have enough to say to people in the middle.

But the “aspiration” call is controversial: it is seen as code for a return to the days when Labour focused more on middle-income voters.

It is undoubtedly true that Tony Blair had a message that resonated with them.

But it also true that Ed Miliband won back traditional supporters: my good friend, Steve Rotheram MP, was re-elected with 81% of the vote in Liverpool Walton.

In recent years, Labour has developed an unappealing habit of trying to compartmentalise the public.

We have used a “mosaic” marketing system that puts patronising labels on people. We have talked of a “retail offer” as if politics were just another branch of the consumer society.

This is the thinking Labour must leave behind.

We will win when we combine the best of Tony and Ed, stop prioritising one group of voters above another, and speak convincingly to the aspirations of all.

People share the same hopes: a secure job; a decent home; a good standard of living; prospects for their kids; and proper care for their parents.

But these dreams are dying for millions. Labour’s mission must be to revive them.

That is what an Andy Burnham Labour party will be all about, because it’s what I’ve always been about.

What brought me into politics was my journey from a Merseyside comprehensive to Cambridge University. I saw life from all sides and how much harder it is for some to make their way in this world.

I still recall the disorientation I felt when asked at my interview in a book-lined study: “Do you see a parallel between The Canterbury Tales and modern package holidays?”

I was still pondering what the question meant when I arrived at Warrington station six hours later and when the rejection letter dropped through the door.

I eventually got to Cambridge and, while I loved my time there, I never lost the sense of an interloper.

 That was 25 years ago. But today it’s even harder for a young person of a similar background to make their way in the world.

Those who can’t fall back on well-off parents can’t get on. The average age of a first-time buyer today without parental help is 37.

The best universities are still dominated by the wealthiest families. And the options for those not on the university route are still seen as second-class.

This is one of this country’s greatest postwar public policy failures.

Our schools system is geared towards the university route. But the same cannot be said for those who aspire to a technical education.

They have been neglected by successive parliaments populated by people who went to university. No wonder so many people feel that politics doesn’t speak to them.

I will change that.

Iwill take Labour out of the “Westminster bubble” and I start on Monday with a plan for a revolution in technical education.

The best way to raise standards in all schools is to give all children hope and something to aim for.

I want apprenticeships to have the same prestige as university places and young people given the same help to access them.

This is what I mean by a Labour party that exists to help everyone get on.

Aspiration isn’t the preserve of certain voters; it is felt by everyone. But, in our insecure modern world, the light of hope is going out for far too many.

The Labour party I lead will turn it back on.