Jim Knight MP - Thursday 17th May 2007

Thursday 17th May 2007

What a frantic time it has been since the local elections as the Labour leadership elections have finally got going properly.

It was sad listening to Tony's resignation speech from Sedgefield. He has been a great prime minister, and I believe history will judge him one of the best. I will always remember his support for me including launching the last General Election from Portland.

I'm also looking forward to Gordon's premiership, and I'm delighted the PLP is unified behind him.

This is the endorsement posted on his website :

I am proud to be the only person ever elected and then re-elected as a Labour MP in Dorset. Labour is only electable in my sort of seat thanks to changes to the party made by Tony and Gordon. Gordon’s stewardship of the economy is the starting point for any conversation with my voters, especially the many pensioners I represent with fixed incomes.

Gordon also offers the sort of change voters want to see. They want a track record of competence and a unified party of government. They want to move on from an obsession with presentation to serious policies transparently informed by values.

I believe the party will be stronger and more united under Gordon, whose track record in government is second to none. The country is not persuaded by the spin of Cameron, they are ready to see real policies from Gordon addressing their needs and aspirations. Cameron offers nothing on improving social mobility, on global and local security, on substantial action on climate change. Only a Labour government led by Gordon Brown has the values and policies to tackle the great challenges facing Britain.

I am also endorsing Alan Johnson for deputy leader ( his campaign website ). He has the right qualities to complement Gordon. Alan is more than just a likeable bloke. He is in his third cabinet job, without being too familiar a face. The electorate will see change, not a recycled face at the top. He also has the experience to chair the various cabinet committees, stand in for the leader, and command respect. He is very popular amongst MPs and is a former trade union general secretary; he is therefore uniquely placed to bring the whole Labour movement together behind Gordon. Importantly Alan represents an English constituency. I’ve seen first hand how inclusive he is in his work and making decisions. He is also driven to remove the barriers of disadvantage that he had to overcome when he started his working life at 15 as a postman with no qualifications and ambitions to be a rock star.