Jeremy is our leader again. We must now come together
After months of intense campaigning, Jeremy is the elected leader again. While some are sad, others are jubilant. I've made no secret of the fact, I voted for Jeremy twice, because I believe he can win a general election.
To do this, we need all wings of the Labour Party to work together. We are not there yet. There is a lot of healing to be done. I believe this can happen. It must happen.
Talking to some friends who voted for Owen Smith, whether they were previously New Labour or not, one thing is very clear. That is, we all want the same thing - a Labour government to address the chronic and sickening Conservative Government's hostile policies to ordinary people, to our wildlife and to our shared economic future. As no one wing of the party has all the answers, we need to build our movement on the doorsteps, phones as well as our workplaces, school playgrounds, shops and social circles. What is at stake is literally the future of our country in the 21st Century or turning it back to 200 years ago. The Labour Party is the only party which can defeat the Conservative Party. We must show unity, be hopeful and not attack each other. The vote is over. As I expect the Parliamentary Labour Party to fall behind our leader, I also expect recrimination, point scoring and nasty criticisms to end from all sides. We have a job to do.
One thing is very true and that is divided political parties do not win elections. We need to be united, fight for what we believe in but also fight hard for the future of our country as a socialist and social democratic society where poverty does not exist, where no one goes hungry and our young and old get the quality of care they deserve and is a human right. We need to fight and protect our NHS. We need to share wealth around the world to end the tragedy of global poverty.
Can you join me in moving on? Putting away what divides us and who we voted for, to create a better country and world? Let us dream and make it happen.
