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| Show 'vision for UK', Brown urged | Show 'vision for UK', Brown urged |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Gordon Brown has been urged to outline his "vision for the future of the UK" by former Lord Chancellor, and leading Blairite, Lord Falconer. | |
| Lord Falconer said that if Labour governed only on the basis of past experience, it would "be offering drift not leadership". | |
| Lord Falconer said: "Renewal does not come from change of leadership alone." | Lord Falconer said: "Renewal does not come from change of leadership alone." |
| His comments in the Sunday Times come as one opinion poll suggests the Tories have a seven-point lead over Labour. | His comments in the Sunday Times come as one opinion poll suggests the Tories have a seven-point lead over Labour. |
| 'Past not future' | 'Past not future' |
| Lord Falconer, who left the Cabinet when Tony Blair stood down as prime minister in June, told the paper: "Making clear our vision is the challenge for the Labour Party now. | Lord Falconer, who left the Cabinet when Tony Blair stood down as prime minister in June, told the paper: "Making clear our vision is the challenge for the Labour Party now. |
| "Because if you rely on experience and our ability to handle crises and do not set out, in the coming months, our vision for the future of the UK... we will be offering drift not leadership, and the past not the future." | "Because if you rely on experience and our ability to handle crises and do not set out, in the coming months, our vision for the future of the UK... we will be offering drift not leadership, and the past not the future." |
| BBC political correspondent Gary O'Donoghue said former Blairite cabinet ministers had largely kept their counsel about Gordon Brown, until now. | |
| "So, Lord Falconer's intervention marks a significant moment, coming at the end of a difficult week for the prime minister." | |
| Reversal of fortunes | Reversal of fortunes |
| An Independent Communications and Marketing (ICM) opinion poll for The Sunday Telegraph puts the Tories on 43%, Labour on 36% and the Liberal Democrats on 14%. | |
| The poll's findings, obtained from a random sample of 1,010 adults phoned on 10 and 11 October, suggest the Conservative Party is now more popular than it has been at any other time in the last 15 years. | |
| Two weeks ago, during the Labour Party conference, Labour held an 11-point lead over the Tories in some opinion polls. | Two weeks ago, during the Labour Party conference, Labour held an 11-point lead over the Tories in some opinion polls. |
| But since then, Labour's popularity appears to have been hit by Tory initiatives on inheritance tax, rows over troop withdrawals from Iraq, and the speculation over an autumn election that never came. | But since then, Labour's popularity appears to have been hit by Tory initiatives on inheritance tax, rows over troop withdrawals from Iraq, and the speculation over an autumn election that never came. |
| The ICM poll does however show that Mr Brown is still seen by those surveyed as a stronger leader than Mr Cameron, by 52% to 32%. | The ICM poll does however show that Mr Brown is still seen by those surveyed as a stronger leader than Mr Cameron, by 52% to 32%. |