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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| New Labour 'will outlive Blair' | New Labour 'will outlive Blair' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| New Labour will not end when Tony Blair leaves office, Home Secretary John Reid has insisted. | |
| Mr Reid said it was still more in tune with ordinary voters' aspirations than David Cameron's Conservatives. | Mr Reid said it was still more in tune with ordinary voters' aspirations than David Cameron's Conservatives. |
| But the Labour Party faced its toughest year since 1992, when it lost a fourth election in a row, as it went through the process of choosing a new leader. | But the Labour Party faced its toughest year since 1992, when it lost a fourth election in a row, as it went through the process of choosing a new leader. |
| Mr Reid defended Gordon Brown's record as Chancellor but stopped short of backing him as the next leader. | Mr Reid defended Gordon Brown's record as Chancellor but stopped short of backing him as the next leader. |
| Mr Brown's "record as a chancellor towers above anything anyone in the Tory Party has ever aspired to or could ever aspire to," Mr Reid said at a party gathering in Lambeth, south London. | Mr Brown's "record as a chancellor towers above anything anyone in the Tory Party has ever aspired to or could ever aspire to," Mr Reid said at a party gathering in Lambeth, south London. |
| And "personal attacks" on the chancellor will rebound on the Tories, he added. | And "personal attacks" on the chancellor will rebound on the Tories, he added. |
| New Labour does not and will not start and end with Tony Blair John ReidHome Secretary | New Labour does not and will not start and end with Tony Blair John ReidHome Secretary |
| Mr Brown is viewed as the overwhelming favourite to take over from Mr Blair, but Mr Reid has been floated by some as a Blairite alternative. | Mr Brown is viewed as the overwhelming favourite to take over from Mr Blair, but Mr Reid has been floated by some as a Blairite alternative. |
| The home secretary admitted Mr Blair's departure would raise doubts in voters' minds, especially as Conservative leader David Cameron was, in Mr Reid's words, "doing well" in presentational terms. | The home secretary admitted Mr Blair's departure would raise doubts in voters' minds, especially as Conservative leader David Cameron was, in Mr Reid's words, "doing well" in presentational terms. |
| "With the departure of Tony Blair, people will start asking again whether Labour will stay New Labour. | "With the departure of Tony Blair, people will start asking again whether Labour will stay New Labour. |
| "And with the arrival of David Cameron, they will no doubt ask, can Labour still win as the party best suited to govern?" | "And with the arrival of David Cameron, they will no doubt ask, can Labour still win as the party best suited to govern?" |
| He said the answer to both "connected" questions was yes. | He said the answer to both "connected" questions was yes. |
| Fourth term | Fourth term |
| "If we remain true to the New Labour approach then we can, we should, and I believe we will secure and deserve another, fourth term in government." | "If we remain true to the New Labour approach then we can, we should, and I believe we will secure and deserve another, fourth term in government." |
| Mr Reid was setting out his thoughts on the "essence" of what the party should stand for in the future. | Mr Reid was setting out his thoughts on the "essence" of what the party should stand for in the future. |
| "It is obvious to me we will win or lose the next election by our own hand," he said. | "It is obvious to me we will win or lose the next election by our own hand," he said. |
| "That is why it is so important that the electorate understand that we intend to remain New Labour to the core - and that the Labour Party itself understands the importance of doing just that." | "That is why it is so important that the electorate understand that we intend to remain New Labour to the core - and that the Labour Party itself understands the importance of doing just that." |
| He added: "It's important we make that very clearly indeed, because otherwise we will allow, by default, the impression to persist that New Labour is, and has been, nothing more or less than Tony Blair. | He added: "It's important we make that very clearly indeed, because otherwise we will allow, by default, the impression to persist that New Labour is, and has been, nothing more or less than Tony Blair. |
| "Our opponents will try to sow that seed. They will personalise the whole issue." | "Our opponents will try to sow that seed. They will personalise the whole issue." |
| Shared concept | Shared concept |
| He went on: "The Tories will try to argue that Tony Blair equals New Labour. They will say that when Tony Blair goes New Labour goes with him. That is not the case and we must show that it is not true." | He went on: "The Tories will try to argue that Tony Blair equals New Labour. They will say that when Tony Blair goes New Labour goes with him. That is not the case and we must show that it is not true." |
| Mr Reid suggested that rather than being the product of one person - Mr Blair - the New Labour concept is the product of decades of work. | Mr Reid suggested that rather than being the product of one person - Mr Blair - the New Labour concept is the product of decades of work. |
| "Though Tony may be stepping down, the underlying analysis and philosophy of New Labour is one shared by all of us in government and will continue undimmed. New Labour does not and will not start and end with Tony Blair." | "Though Tony may be stepping down, the underlying analysis and philosophy of New Labour is one shared by all of us in government and will continue undimmed. New Labour does not and will not start and end with Tony Blair." |
| Closely echoing recent speeches by his political mentor about the politics of aspiration, Mr Reid said: "It is about being clearly on the side of the many who succeed in social advance, and those who aspire to it. That is the 'many' that we speak about." | Closely echoing recent speeches by his political mentor about the politics of aspiration, Mr Reid said: "It is about being clearly on the side of the many who succeed in social advance, and those who aspire to it. That is the 'many' that we speak about." |