POSTPONED BADGER CULL IS AN OMNIVORE SHAMBLES

The statement by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Owen Paterson, confirming the postponement of the proposed badger cull was an example of another shambolic policy failure. It contained a shameful series of evasions and errors in seeking to justify the killing of badgers and the impractical methods the that Tory-Lib Dem Coalition proposes to use.

What I found particularly worrying was that he was arrogant and out of touch with reality. He tempestuously thumped the despatch box in response to my question about earmarking £250,000 for post mortems on badgers and dismissed it as a “ludicrous question”.  He quoted Greek mythological figures at other Labour MPs who were challenging his approach to this issue. And in response to my Labour colleague, Simon Danczuk, who asked how much public money had been spent so far on the misguided cull, Paterson suggested that unless the cull went ahead it would “look like a round of drinks”!

It was significant that of the large number of Tory and Lib Dem MPs who responded to Paterson’s statement, only one Tory and two Lib Dems expressed opposition to the cull, the rest wanted a clear commitment to press ahead with the cull next year. By contrast, the last Labour government established six trials where a badger ‘Bacille Calmette Guérin’ (BCG) vaccine was used test its effectiveness in tackling TB. But when the Tory-Lib Dem Government came to power they cancelled the trials.

Labour MPs have been joined by the Badger Trust in calling for an open and transparent public review of all the issues surrounding the cull. This includes the costs, public safety, practicability, science, animal welfare and the emergence of alternatives to culling. Owen Paterson was also pressed in the House of Commons today on whether he had any contact with EU ministers about vaccinating cattle and what steps he was going to take to improve biosecurity on farms.

Owen Paterson’s claims that he is basing his stance on “scientific opinion”, but that is nonsense. The truth is informed scientific opinion wants a national bTB eradication strategy, which would make clear the miniscule contribution and considerable dangers to be expected from culling.

Owen Paterson should use this pause to reflect on the fact that:

• There is no evidence that the badger population has increased since the last estimate in 1997.

• His so-called effective culling method has never been tried and requires pilot culls to test it.

• Britain enjoyed 20 years with about 1,000 cattle slaughtered annually. The number only rose when testing was disrupted by BSE and foot and mouth, but for 16 years the industry stood out against pre-movement testing.

• Ten times as many cattle are killed for diseases other than bovine TB. Compensation is paid for the TB-infected cattle, but not for the others.

• In saying no other country had tackled bTB without addressing wildlife Mr Paterson seems to have forgotten that the United Kingdom did so after World War II. The cattle toll was reduced from 47,476 to a low point of 628 in 1979, without killing badgers.

• Bovine TB is not currently spreading. In fact the number of cattle lost – and compensated for – has been falling from 2008 up to last year.

• The disease is not being “left unchecked”. A new range of long-awaited and overdue farm-based measures have finally been announced for next year.

• Marksmen shooting badgers at night will have to kill at least seven out of ten – but the government has no idea how many badgers there are in the first place.

Regrettably, farmers and landowners have been sadly deluded into believing in - and paying for - the proposed unholy mess based on a 40-year-old prejudice that disregards scientific evidence.

WHY DID HUGO CHAVEZ WIN THE VENEZUELAN ELECTION

Hugo Chavez was re-elected as President of Venezuela with 55% of the vote to 44%

He won over 8.1m votes, which is a record number of votes received by any candidate in Venezuelan history.

Hugo Chavez won in 22 of Venezuela’s 24 states including in Miranda, the state governed by his main election rival Henrique Carpriles Radonski.

The election saw the highest turnout in Venezuelan history with 81 per cent voting.

The 11% margin of victory is a landslide. For example, since the Second World War only 2 UK General Elections have produced a wider winning margin and only 4 US presidential elections have done so.

It appears that support is growing faster for Hugo Chavez than for the right-wing opposition coalition. Since the last election in 2010, Hugo Chavez’s coalition of supporters has added 2.3m votes whilst right-wing coalition added 1.2m votes.

A FREE AND FAIR ELECTION
This was the fifteenth election since Hugo Chavez first came to office in 1999. There have been more sets of elections since then than in the proceeding 40 years of Venezuelan democracy.

During the election campaign former United States President Jimmy Carter said “the election process in Venezuela is the best in the world". He added that Hugo Chavez has always won “fairly and squarely”. Carter won a Nobel prize for his work with the election-monitoring Carter Centre.

The head of the observer mission of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), Carlos Alvarez, stated that “the electoral system is reliable and the process was excellent”.

The Venezuelan right-wing opposition coalition has recognised the election results

CONTRIBUTORY FACTORS TO CHAVEZ'S RE-ELECTION
The elections took place against the backdrop of strong economic growth with Venezuela’s economy growing at 6% in the first half of 2012. It left recession two years ago.

New social policies which address the ongoing needs of Venezuela’s poor majority have also continued. For example in the past year alone 250,000 new social houses have been built and state pensions made available for all. These policies are deeply popular, explaining why pollsters gave Chavez a 60% approval rating in the run up to the election and also the election result.


You can see my interview on Venezuelan TV news here: http://multimedia.vtv.gob.ve/es/#!/videos/noticia/nacionales/britanicos-apoyan-modelo-economico-venezolano

PANTOMIME SEASON COMES EARLY FOR THE TORIES

AS theatres across the nation prepare for pantomime season, it seems the biggest farce of all was at Westminster last week as the Tory-led Government fumbled from one embarrassment to another.

Even I couldn’t have anticipated that my question to David Cameron over energy bills would have prompted such a catalogue of mishaps from a Government that is clearly running out of ideas.

It was right and proper that I posed the challenge at Prime Minister’s Question Time as it was the anniversary of Mr Cameron’s Energy Summit. Given his abject failure in the intervening 12 months to do anything positive I thought it was timely to remind him of his pledge to reduce energy bills.

But even I didn’t expect the to-ing on fro-ing that followed.

First Mr Cameron “revealed” an apparent Tory policy to force energy companies to offer the lowest tariff to all their customers. The only problem was Mr Cameron hadn’t bothered to talk to fellow ministers or civil servants about his plan to drop this bombshell.

“Oh no he didn’t!” was the initial cry from Whitehall, as panic ensued while ministers desperately tried to make sense of the Prime Minister’s announcement.

“Oh well he might have done!” was the message from Energy Minister John Hayes during a shocking display of back-pedalling in the House of Commons the next morning.

“Oh yes I did!” then confirmed Mr Cameron that evening, as journalists caught him before a meeting in Brussels and, once again, the Prime Minister found himself sweating on the spot.

Even now I’m not 100 per cent convinced I fully understand what the outcome is, and what we can expect to see in the Energy Bill when it comes before Parliament.

And it is a very serious issue. Spiralling energy costs are one of the biggest challenges facing families, with the cost of living rising but income at best stagnating and at worst reducing.

That is why it is important that any legislation affecting it is fully thought out. That Mr Cameron and his cabinet colleagues lost grip on this topic to such an embarrassing extent proves, once again, how totally out of touch they are with the public.

Or perhaps it is a sign of Mr Cameron’s arrogance that he doesn’t even feel he needs to talk to his ministers any more.

Let’s face it: he stopped bothering to ask what his Lib Dem partners in crime thought months ago. So perhaps it was only a matter of time before he treated his own party colleagues with the same degree of contempt.

And it is becoming increasingly obvious just how arrogant David Cameron really is.

He exudes arrogance every time he refuses to budge on his failing economic policy that has blighted his Government from the day he took office.  Despite an increasing number of independent economic and political commentators agreeing he is causing irreparable damage, by cutting too far and too fast, he carries on regardless.

And he certainly displayed arrogance in his total failure to take action against his shamed Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell.

Mr Mitchell has been less than honourable in his mishandling of the storm he caused by belittling a police officer last month. Stepping down from his position is the first honourable thing he has done since then, albeit several weeks later than he should have done.

But it is notable that even though the whole world, including Mr Mitchell, could see his position was untenable, the one person who refused to admit he may have made a mistake was the Prime Minister.

And that’s the really worrying thing.

If David Cameron cannot bear to admit his mistakes over smaller matters, what hope is there that he will fare any better when it comes to the really big issues?

HUGO CHAVEZ VICTORY IN VENEZUELA CELEBRATED IN LONDON TONIGHT

I enjoyed a lovely evening at the Venezuelan Embassy in London tonight celebrating Hugo Chavez’s presidential victory. In spite external interference in the democratic affairs of a sovereign country, Chavez secured an overwhelming majority in the recent election.

Regrettably I had to leave early as I had booked a ticket for the 8.55pm train back to Derby. But it was great to be there to experience the joy and solidarity with people who, like me, are delighted that progressive policies were overwhelmingly endorsed by the Venezuelan people.

I think Messrs Cameron, Clegg and Osborne could learn a lesson or two from this Latin American economic miracle where the wealth the country generates is invested in the economy and shared with its people.

Venezuela’s economy is growing at a staggering six percent a year, something we can only dream of with the counterproductive austerity programme being pursued by our rotten Tory-Lib Dem government.

Venezuela’s progressive policies have seen extreme poverty slashed by 70 percent, and whilst there is of course more do, it is testament to Venezuela’s determination to build a better society. And talking of building, in the past year alone 250,000 new social houses have been built. Compared to the catastrophic collapse in house building in Britain, Venezuela’s record is impressive.

Furthermore, Venezuela’s state pensions have been made available for all and the minimum wage has been increased by 30 percent. It is little surprise that these policies are deeply popular and explains why Hugo Chavez secured such a strong mandate on a turnout of over 80 percent.

Before the election Brazil’s former President Lula backed President Chavez saying...“Your victory will be ours”. He said: “With Chavez's leadership, the Venezuelan people have made extraordinary gains. The popular classes have never ever been treated with such respect, love and dignity. Those conquests must be preserved and strengthened. Your victory will be ours... thanks comrade for everything you have done for Latin America”.

It was a ringing endorsement that was evidently shared in spades by a large majority of the Venezuelan people.

THE REAL PICTURE ON JOBS: BRITAIN IS INCREASINGLY DIVIDED AND INSECURE

Young people in Derby are paying the price for this Government’s economic failure as long term youth unemployment in our area continues to soar.

This week’s unemployment figures offer no let up for young people in Derby who are increasingly shut out of the job market because of this Government’s economic failure.

Long term youth unemployment here in is almost three time higher than it was last year, but ministers still refuse to take decisive action.

People in work are increasingly having to work part-time or are on temporary contracts. There are 1.4 million people who are working part time because they cannot find a full time job.

Labour will not wait for the next General Election to take action.

Our Youth Jobs Taskforce is pulling together the best ideas from across the country to take action now.

This week’s fall in unemployment is a welcome chink of light in a very bleak economic outlook.

But frankly, when the welfare bill is spiralling by over £24 billion over this parliament, ministers are wrong to be breaking out the bunting.

The economic outlook is still concerning with more people unemployed than at the time of the General Election.

We are seeing an increasingly divided Britain.

Unemployment is higher than it was at the time of the election in nine out of twelve regions in the UK. The unemployment rate in the North East of the country is 9.9 per cent, compared with 5.8 per cent in the South West.

Those out of jobs are increasingly shut out.

Long-term unemployment continues to rise. 897,000 people have been unemployed for more than 12 months. That’s a third of the total unemployed who are shut out from employment growth. Long-term youth unemployment has more than trebled in the last year.

Those in jobs are increasingly insecure.

Our appalling economic situation means that employers just aren’t in a position to offer secure jobs. Nearly 60 per cent of the jobs created since the election are part-time or temporary. 1.4 million people are now working part-time because there are no full-time jobs available.

TORY-LED GOVERNMENT PREACHES RESPONSIBILITY WHILST PRACTISING DISRESPECT TOWARDS OUR POLICE

British police officers do a difficult, vital and all-too-often dangerous job to keeping our streets safe. It is challenging work, often in challenging circumstances, but they operate at their best because of a relationship with the public founded on consent rather than coercion.

This relationship is based on mutual respect. The police understand that they are public servants, charged with the responsibility to protect us, and the public understand that police officers are able to do this when they are treated with the respect they deserve.

Unfortunately, the current government seems to have forgotten this; they have treated the police with utter contempt and disrespect since coming into office.

The worst example of this has been the tirade of abuse that the Tory Chief Whip, Andrew Mitchell, recently subjected a police officer to outside Downing Street. Let us leave aside for a moment the fact that the officer’s role that day was to protect Mitchell and the Prime Minister in one of the most security-sensitive locations in the country. Let’s also leave aside that the Chief Whip swore at a police officer who was simply trying to do his job.

The heart of the matter is surely that a member of the Tory Cabinet believes it is appropriate to treat a police officer in such a way. Furthermore, the Prime Minister has chosen to keep Mitchell in his job instead of backing the police officer who was verbally abused.

Ask yourself this: what would you expect to happen to someone who swore at a police officer on duty in Derby’s city centre on a Saturday night? You would surely expect them to be arrested, and rightly so. But it seems that it is one rule for cabinet ministers in Downing Street and another for the rest of us on any other street in the country.

David Cameron, Andrew Mitchell and the rest of the Tory-led Government simply do not understand the nature of respect and responsibility when it comes to policing. That is why I’m backing our excellent candidate Alan Charles for Derbyshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) on 15 November.

I have a simple question for the local Conservatives: Do you think Andrew Mitchell should have been sacked or not?

The answer is important because the arrogance displayed is indicative of this out-of-touch Tory-led government’s general attitude towards the police. Their lack of respect for the police has seen their numbers in England and Wales falling to their lowest level in nine years. The majority of the cuts have come from 999, neighbourhood and traffic response units - the officers we all rely on in an emergency.

As well as the NHS, the Tories simply cannot be trusted on the police.

FOLLOWING PRESSURE FROM LABOUR CAN PEOPLE LOOK FORWARD TO LOWER ENERGY BILLS?

ENERGY companies could be made to give the lowest tariff to their customers after my question at today’s PMQs forced the Prime Minister to commit to finally acting on his pledge to reduce bills.

I used today’s Prime Minister Questions in Westminster to highlight the fact that the Tory-led Government had failed to deliver on a promise made at last year’s energy summit. David Cameron had pledged to help people struggling to pay for their energy bills but hadn’t done anything about it.

Now Mr Cameron, clearly put on the back foot by the question, has been forced to commit to supporting a Labour policy to ensure customers are given a fairer deal when it comes to paying their energy bills.

I guess he must have thought he’d got away with making yet another empty promise, and I don’t think he was expecting to be challenged on this issue today.

But this is exactly the outcome we wanted. It is still two-and-a-half years until the next General Election and yet Labour is already shaping policy in opposition by holding the Prime Minister to account.

Now, thanks to pressure from Labour, customers could be in line to get lower prices. We are determined to force this issue to its conclusion, but Cameron is already trying to wriggle out of the commitment he gave less than 12 hours ago.

MINDLESS MINISTERS PURSUE HORRIFIC AND POINTLESS BADGER CULL

YESTERDAY 31 leading scientists condemned the ‘costly distraction’ of badger culling while David Cameron and Owen Paterson are trying to justify the pointless slaughter

The scientists’ main points, published in The Observer on 14th October 2012 [1] are:

• Cattle TB deserves the highest standard of evidence-based management

• Licensed culling risks increasing cattle TB rather than reducing it.

• The government predicts only limited benefits, insufficient to offset the costs

• Imminent pilot culls are too slight to measure impacts before wider roll-outs

• Badger culling risks becoming a costly distraction from nationwide TB control.

• Culling badgers as planned is very unlikely to contribute to TB eradication

• ‘We therefore urge the government to reconsider its strategy’.

David Williams, Chairman of the Badger Trust said: “This powerful testimony should be the death knell of badger culling. Vaccination is now possible for both cattle and badgers and should be implemented as soon as possible as it is in Wales for badgers. The Coalition should concentrate all its energies on persuading Europe to demolish the restrictions on the use of established science and techniques for cattle vaccination. Mexico among others is vaccinating already with field trials continuing elsewhere, but even those would be illegal in the UK.

“For the Coalition to fly in the face of scientific knowledge of this stature may be wily politics, but as logic it is more like lunacy. How can this be a science based badger cull, as claimed by the Government and DEFRA? The Government's chief scientist is among those who dispute evidence used to justify killings, which may begin imminently, as reported in Damian Carrington’s latest article [2].”

The letter in full

Bovine tuberculosis is a serious problem for UK farmers, deserving the highest standard of evidence-based management. The government's TB-control policy for England includes licensing farmers to cull badgers. As scientists with expertise in managing wildlife and wildlife diseases, we believe the complexities of TB transmission mean that licensed culling risks increasing cattle TB rather than reducing it.

Even if such increases do not materialise, the government predicts only limited benefits, insufficient to offset the costs for either farmers or taxpayers. Unfortunately, the imminent pilot culls are too small and too short term to measure the impacts of licensed culling on cattle TB before a wider roll-out of the approach. The necessarily stringent licensing conditions mean that many TB-affected areas of England will remain ineligible for such culling. We are concerned that badger culling risks becoming a costly distraction from nationwide TB control.

We recognise the importance of eradicating bovine TB and agree that this will require tackling the disease in badgers. Unfortunately, culling badgers as planned is very unlikely to contribute to TB eradication. We therefore urge the government to reconsider its strategy.

(Signed)

Professor Sir Patrick Bateson FRS, University of Cambridge and president of the Zoological Society of London,

Professor Mike Begon, University of Liverpool,

Professor Tim Blackburn, Zoological Society of London ,

Professor John Bourne CBE, former Chairman, Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB,

Professor William Sutherland, University of Cambridge,

Professor Terry Burke, University of Sheffield,

Dr Chris Cheeseman, formerly Food & Environment Research Agency,

Professor Sarah Cleaveland, University of Glasgow,

Professor Tim Clutton Brock FRS, University of Cambridge ,

Professor Andrew Dobson, Princeton University,

Dr Matthew Fisher, Imperial College London,

Dr Trent Garner, Zoological Society of London,

Professor Stephen Harris, University of Bristol,

Professor Daniel Haydon, University of Glasgow,

Professor Peter Hudson FRS, Pennsylvania State University,

Professor Kate Jones, University College London,

Professor Matt Keeling, University of Warwick,

Professor Richard Kock, Royal Veterinary College,

Professor Lord Krebs Kt FRS, University of Oxford,

Dr Karen Laurenson, Frankfurt Zoological Society,

Professor Sir John Lawton CBE FRS, former chief executive of the Natural Environment Research Council,

Professor Simon Levin, Princeton University,

Professor Georgina Mace FRS, University College London,

Professor Jonna Mazet, University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine,

Professor Lord May OM AC Kt FRS, University of Oxford,

Professor Graham Medley, University of Warwick,

Professor E.J. Milner-Gulland, Imperial College London,

Professor Denis Mollison, former Independent Scientific Auditor to the Randomised Badger Culling Trial,

Professor Pej Rohani, University of Michigan,

Dr Tony Sainsbury, Zoological Society of London,

Professor Claudio Sillero, University of Oxford,

Professor Rosie Woodroffe, Zoological Society of London



[1] http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2012/oct/14/letters-observer?CMP=twt_gu

[2] http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/oct/13/badger-cull-mindless

DAVID CAMERON IS CUTTING THE NHS, NOT THE DEFICIT

David Cameron promised to cut the deficit not the NHS, but the truth is he’s cutting the NHS not the deficit.

David Cameron and George Osborne said their plan would get the deficit down. But it isn't working. Labour won't let them pretend that it is.

Thanks to this Government’s failed economic plan, the UK is borrowing more this year than last year and we are in the longest double-dip recession since the Second World War. Borrowing is £10.6 billion higher so far this year than last year.

That's £802 higher every second. £277,124,183 higher in the four days of Conservative Party Conference.

Meanwhile, the Tories are breaking their promise to protect the NHS. Official Treasury figures confirm that since 2009/10, NHS spending has fallen in real terms, and 5,500 nurses have been cut since the General Election.

We must not let them get away with it. With borrowing going up, a double-dip recession, a tax cuts for millionaires and our NHS under threat, David Cameron cannot be the One Nation Prime Minister this country needs and deserves.

WHAT WILL ONE NATION LABOUR MEAN TO PEOPLE IN DERBY?

Labour has announced a range of new policies to rebuild Britain.

ON EDUCATION AND SKILLS: As well as focusing on those who go to University, our Technical Baccalaureate will offer a clear vocational route to a gold standard qualification for those forgotten 50% of young people who don’t go to University. Business will take the driving seat with our new approach to apprenticeships, ensuring they have all the tools they need to expand.

ON BANKS: We need to make sure that banks work for the country instead of the country working for banks. The Government isn’t delivering the change we need. If the Tories won't do it, then the next Labour Government will put an end to the "casino culture" in banking that takes ordinary people and businesses for a ride.

ON ENERGY PRICES: The Tory-led Government has failed to stand up to the big energy companies whose price hikes are hitting families. Under Labour if energy companies don’t cut energy prices we will intervene. We’ll insist that older people are put on the cheapest tariffs, create a new energy watchdog with tough new powers to force energy companies to pass on price cuts and clamp down on abuses by the energy giants.

ON PENSIONS: We have an ageing society, but fewer than 50% of employees save into a workplace pension. Why? People don’t trust the pensions industry which complicates schemes making them too difficult to work out. High charges that erode the value of pension savings and undermine trust. We will take action against excessive pension charges.

ON HOUSING AND JOBS: Labour is calling for 100,000 more affordable homes to be built to kick-start the economy and create jobs, alongside a two-year stamp duty holiday for all first time buyers purchasing properties up to £250,000. The plan should be funded using the £3 billion to £4 billion expected to be raised from the forthcoming auction of the 4G mobile phone spectrum.

TAKING TOUGH DECISIONS: Labour will not make promises we cannot keep. Borrowing is rising this year because of this Tory-led Government's failure. That's why we cannot promise now to reverse any tax rises or spending cuts. We will make sure that every pound the Government spends is spent effectively.

ED MILIBAND IS THE ONE NATION PRIME MINISTER THIS COUNTRY NEEDS

Ed Miliband’s speech about One Nation Labour’s mission to rebuild Britain is going down well. Instinctively, British people know that we will only overcome the challenges we face in Britain if we pull together as a country with everyone playing their part.

One Nation Labour wants a Britain where everyone has a stake, prosperity is fairly shared and the institutions that bind us together, like the NHS, are preserved. Responsibility is required at the bottom and the top.

Most of all, I think there is a genuine sense that Ed Miliband ‘gets it’ – unlike David Cameron and his out of touch Tories. People are starting to see that he can be the One Nation Prime Minister to lead the change Britain needs. He will bring this country together, while David Cameron is dividing it.

David Cameron cannot be a One Nation Prime Minister when this April he has chosen to give 8,000 millionaires a tax cut of £40,000, while millions of families and pensioners are paying more.

David Cameron can’t be a One Nation Prime Minister when he is breaking up the NHS he promised to save. And he can’t be a One Nation Prime Minister when he stands aside while a million young people are unemployed.

With a majority of just 613, I am well aware that many people in Derby turned away from Labour and voted for David Cameron in 2010 and I think understand why. Many people wanted to give David Cameron’s Conservatives the benefit of the doubt when he made his promises of change. Others thought the Liberal Democrats were a genuine progressive force in British politics. But the truth is the Liberal Democrats have jettisoned every single one of the principles they claimed to believe in, and although David Cameron promised change, nothing is changing.

The only party that can deliver real change is a One Nation Labour Party.

CAMERON’S ABSURD BADGER CLAIMS

Claims by Prime Minister David Cameron and newly appointed Environment Secretary Owen Paterson that the planned slaughter of badgers will lead to a healthier species, are absurd, says the Badger Trust and should be withdrawn and binned.

Speaking to news reporters covering the Conservative annual conference Mr Cameron said he was convinced a cull of badgers to tackle bovine tuberculosis in cattle was the right thing to do and he went on “…I believe this is the right policy for healthy badgers as well as healthy cattle.”

Addressing the conference Mr Paterson said the disease would get worse if the Coalition followed the “cowardly inaction” pursued by Labour in government. “We have to use every tool at our disposal and that’s why we’re trialling a badger cull. We need healthy wildlife living alongside healthy cattle.”

Both claims are patently absurd, says the Badger Trust. The pilot culls and the planned subsequent prolonged culls are non selective and will destroy mostly healthy local badger populations. That is beyond question.

It is not possible to take out only diseased animals. The indisputable facts are that thousands of healthy badgers making no contribution to disease spread will die or be critically wounded. The research the Government cherry picks to try to justify its onslaught on badgers shows that even in TB hotspots most badgers are not infected [1].

What’s more, that same exhaustive programme of research (the Randomised Badger Culling Trials overseen by the Independent Scientific Group) concluded that the prevalence of disease in badgers which survived the culls was HIGHER than before the culls began.

David Williams, Badger Trust chairman, commented: “It beggars belief that the Prime Minister and the Environment Secretary can claim that culling is in some way good for badgers, that killing them by the thousand will somehow result in healthy badger populations. Let them explain how they have reached this astonishing conclusion, one that the Prime Minster also made on Countryfile. If they can’t, and we are sure they will be unable to, they should apologise--the Prime Minster, through the aides who have briefed him so badly, and Mr Paterson because he must know better.

“With every passing week the case put forward for a badger cull is collapsing around the Government’s ears. They should listen, think again and abandon this provocative counter-productive plan, one that Lords Krebs described as crazy.”

LABOUR’S POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER IN DERBYSHIRE’S BACKS RSPCA’S ANIMAL WELFARE CHARTER

Alan Charles the Labour Party Candidate in Derbyshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Election has backed the RSPCA’s Animal Welfare Charter and pledged that he will work with all organisations committed to improving the standards of animal welfare in Derbyshire.

The Charter calls upon Police and Crime Commissioners to:

• Develop a force-wide wildlife crime strategy; supporting and retaining wildlife officers

• Devise a dog ownership strategy; retaining dog legislation officers and working in partnership with other organisations and agencies

• Ensure the best standards of welfare for police dogs and horses, observing correct procedures as laid down in the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and including animal welfare training as part of the basic courses for the equine and canine teams

• Provide the force with clear protocols and procedures for liaising and working with RSPCA inspectors in providing an effective service to local communities concerning animal welfare

• Work with and assist RSPCA Inspectors in preventing animal cruelty

• Support calls for up-dated and consolidated legalisation that provides preventative measures so that people and animals are better protected.

Alan Charles said: “These are practical, sensible and humane proposals that I am delighted to support. The Animal Welfare Act of 2006, introduced by the last Labour Government was a game changer in that it established not only that it is illegal to be cruel to an animal, but that there is a statutory obligation to ensure that the welfare needs of animals are met.

“The Act deals both with wildlife and companion animals and operates alongside wildlife legislation also introduced by Labour.

“As Derbyshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, I will ensure that the current legislation is enforced; support improvements to that legislation and work with the RSPCA and other relevant organisations to develop the best training and good practice models.

“Animals enhance our communities and enrich our lives. It will be my responsibility in post to ensure that they too live a good life and are protected from pain, injury and suffering.”

SHOOTERS OPPOSE ALTERNATIVES TO TOXIC LEAD SHOT

The League Against Cruel Sports today called for an end to the use of lead shot within the UK’s game shooting industry. The charity's call follows a recent EU wide study into the practice by the European Chemicals Agency, which has been strongly criticised by the neo-feudal Countryside Alliance.

Joe Duckworth, Chief Executive of the League Against Cruel Sports says: "It frankly flies in the face of the facts that the Countryside Alliance is defending the use of lead shot. I agree with Joe’s observations.

The truth is the case against using lead shot is overwhelming. It is already banned in several EU countries, including Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands. But the gun-toting bloodsports fanatics are not interested in taking even this minimal step to reduce the environmental impact of their repugnant activities.

Thousands of tonnes of highly toxic lead shot are discharged into the countryside each year. Lead not only contaminates rivers, lakes and soil, it is ingested by predators that feed on shot birds and is eaten by water birds mistaking the shot particles for seeds or small molluscs when feeding.

Studies show that lead poisoning causes between nine per cent and 31 per cent of deaths in various species of ducks and geese and has been found in 33 species of bird of prey and 30 species of other land birds, including some of our most treasured and rare species.

This latest episode once again demonstrates that the Countryside Alliance is anything but an alliance of people concerned about the countryside. It’s merely a front for a tiny minority who obtain some kind of sordid pleasure from killing wildlife. Their activities defile our beautiful British Countryside.

George Monbiot summed up the Countryside Alliance's campaign against a ban on lead shot as “motivated not by any practical or economic concerns, but by the age-old attitude of reactionary members of the landowning classes.” He says these people are “supercilious, blinkered and supremely selfish” who have “had their way in Britain for far too long.”

I couldn’t have put it better myself.

ED MILIBAND’S 2012 CONFERENCE SPEECH IN FULL

It is great to be in Labour Manchester. And you know Manchester has special memories for me because two years ago I was elected the leader of this party. I’m older. I feel a lot older actually. I hope I’m a bit wiser. But I am prouder than ever to be the Leader of the Labour Party.

You may have noticed that doing this job you get called some names, some of the nice, some of them not so nice. Let me tell you my favourite; it was when Mitt Romney came to Britain and called me ‘Mr Leader.’ I don’t know about you but I think it has a certain ring to it myself, it’s sort of half-way to North Korea. Mitt, thanks a lot for that.

Let me tell you a bit of insight in to Conference. I always look forward to Conference. But the Leader’s Speech, as previous leaders will attest, can be a bit of a trial. You get all kinds of advice from people. Say this, don't say that. Smile here, don’t smile there. Stand there, don’t stand there. Thanks Tony, Gordon and Neil for that. But sometimes you get a bit fed up with it as the Leader. And so the other day, and this is an absolutely true story, I decided that to get away from it all, the speechwriting, all of that, I’d go for a walk with my three year old son, Daniel. It was an absolutely gorgeous late summer day. So we went out, I wanted to go to the park. Here’s the first thing he said to me: “Daddy, I can help you with your speech.” I was like not you as well! He is a Miliband after all. And he said to me: “Daddy, you can't do it on your own.” This is absolutely true, and I said “well that’s a good Labour insight, you can’t do it all your own. Daniel what do you want in my speech?” He said “I want dinosaurs! I want dinosaurs, I want flying dinosaurs! I want dinosaurs that eat people daddy!” I said, “No Daniel. We tried predators last year.
OK, look only one problem, where’s my speech? I want to do something different today. I want to tell you my story. I want to tell you who I am. What I believe. And why I have a deep conviction that together we can change this country. My conviction is rooted in my family’s story, a story that starts 1,000 miles from here, because the Miliband’s haven’t sat under the same oak tree for the last five hundred years.

Both of my parents’ came to Britain as immigrants, Jewish refugees from the Nazis. I know I would not be standing on this stage today without the compassion and tolerance of our great country. Great Britain.

And you know my parents saw Britain rebuilt after the Second World War. I was born in my local NHS hospital, the same hospital my two sons would later be born in. As you saw in the film I went to my local school. I went to my local comprehensive with people from all backgrounds. I still remember the amazing and inspiring teaching I got at that school, and one of my teachers, my English teacher, Chris Dunne, is here with us today. Thank you Chris and to all the teachers at Haverstock.

It was a really tough school, but order was kept by one of the scariest headmistress you could possibly imagine, Mrs Jenkins. And you know what? I learned at my school about a lot more than how to pass exams. I learned how to get on with people from all backgrounds, whoever they were.

I wouldn’t be standing on this stage today without my comprehensive school education.

So, Britain gave me, gave my family, a great gift that my parents never had. A safe and secure childhood. And you know my parents didn’t talk much about their early lives, it was too painful, it hurt too much. The pain of those they lost. The guilt of survivors. But I believe that their experience meant they brought up both David and myself differently as a result. Because having struggled for life itself, they instilled in us a sense of duty to ease the struggles of others. And this came not just from my parents’ wartime experience it came from the daily fabric of our childhood. You know there were toys and games, rows about homework. I was actually a Dallas fan, believe it or not, which didn’t go down well with my dad as you can imagine.

So of course there were the normal things, but every upbringing is special, and mine was special because of the place of politics within it. When I was twelve years old, I met a South African friend of my parents, her name was Ruth First. The image I remember is of somebody vivacious, full of life, full of laughter. And then I remember a few months later coming down to breakfast and seeing my mum in tears because Ruth First had been murdered by a letter bomb from the South African secret police. Murdered for being part of the anti-apartheid movement. Now I didn’t understand the ins and outs of it, but I was shocked. I was angry I knew that wasn’t the way the world was meant to be. I knew I had a duty to do something about it. It is this upbringing that has made me who I am. A person of faith, not a religious faith but a faith nonetheless. A faith, I believe, many religious people would recognise. So here is my faith. I believe we have a duty to leave the world a better pl ace than we found it. I believe we cannot shrug our shoulders at injustice, and just say that’s the way the world is. And I believe that we can overcome any odds if we come together as people.

That’s how my Mum survived the war. The kindness of strangers. Nuns in a convent who took her in and sheltered her from the Nazis, took in a Jewish girl at risk to themselves. It’s what my dad found when he came to these shores and joined the Royal Navy and was part of Britain winning the war.

Now of course my parents didn’t tell me what career to go into. My late father, as some of you know, wouldn’t agree with many of the things I stand for. He would’ve loved the idea of “Red Ed.” But he would have been a little bit disappointed that it isn’t true. My mum probably doesn’t agree with me either, but like most mums is too kind to say so. And look when I was younger I wasn’t certain I wanted to be a politician. But I do believe the best way me for to give back to Britain, the best way to be true to my faith, is through politics. Now that is not a fashionable view today. Because millions of people have given up on politics, they think we’re all the same. Well I guess you could say I am out to prove them wrong.

That is who I am. That is what I believe. That is my faith.

And I know who I need to serve in Britain with my faith. It’s the people I’ve met on my journey as Leader of the Opposition. The people who come up to me on trains, in the street, in shops who ask me about what the Labour Party is going to do for them and tell me the stories of their lives. It’s for them, the people I have met on my journey as Leader of the Opposition that today’s speech is for. You know I think of the young woman I met at a youth centre in London earlier this year. She was brimming with hopes and ambitions for the future. She was full of life. She was full of desire to get on and do the best for herself. And then she told me her story. She’d sent off her CV to 137 employers and she’d not had a reply from any of them. Many of you in this audience will know people in the same position. Just think how that crushes the hopes of a generation. I want to talk to her, to a whole generation of young people who feel that Britain under this Government is no t offering them a future.

I think back to the small businessman I met in July. A proud man called Alan Henderson, a small businessman. Let me tell you Alan Henderson’s story: He’d spent 40 years building up his sign making business, 40 years. He told me his story, he went to see his bank manager in 1972 at his local high street bank, he got a loan and he started his business. But something terrible happened to Alan Henderson and his family a few years back. He was ripped off by the bank he had been with all that time and Alan Henderson and his family have been living through a nightmare ever since. I want to talk to him, and all the people of Britain who feel they’re at the mercy of forces beyond their control.

I want to talk to all of the people of this country who always thought of themselves as comfortably off, but who now find themselves struggling to make ends meet. They ask: Why is it that when oil prices go up, the petrol price goes up. But when the oil price comes down, the petrol price just stays the same? They ask: Why is it that the gas and electricity bills just go up and up and up? And they ask: Why is it that the privatised train companies can make hundreds of millions of pounds in profit at the same time as train fares are going up by 10% a year? They think the system just doesn’t work for them. And you know what? They’re right. It doesn’t. It doesn’t work for them but for the cosy cartels and powerful interests that government hasn’t cut down to size. I want to talk to them and all the millions of people across our country who don’t think they get a fair crack of the whip.

And I want to say to them, yes our problems are deep. But they can be overcome. Deep problems about who Britain is run for and who prospers within it. One rule for those at the top, another rule for everybody else. Two nations, not one. I want to say to them today it’s not the Britain you believe in. It’s not the Britain I believe in. It’s not the Britain this party will ever be satisfied with. So friends we’re going to change it. And here’s how.

My faith that we can, starts with the inner strength of us as a country. You see the problem isn’t the British people, just think about the Olympics and Paralympic games. It was a triumph for Britain. And why did we succeed? We succeeded because of our outstanding athletes from, Zara Phillips the grand-daughter of a parachuting Queen, to a boy born in Somalia, called Mo Farah. Mo Farah. A true Brit. And a true hero for our country.

We succeeded because of the outstanding volunteers, the Games Makers who are here with us today, all 70,000 Games makers. They put a mirror up to Britain and showed us the best of ourselves. We succeeded because of our outstanding troops, our outstanding troops, many of whom were drafted in at the last minute. And let us today pay tribute to their bravery, their courage, their sacrifice in Afghanistan and all round the world. And let’s say to them, and let’s say to them, just as you do our duty by us in the most courageous way possible so we will always do our duty by you, both in military and in civilian life.

We succeeded because of our outstanding police and let us in this city of Manchester show our appreciation for what the extraordinary police men and women of our country do for our country.

And we succeeded and this is a real lesson, we succeeded because of a group of individuals, a group of individuals who saw the odds against London’s bid and thought, never mind the odds, we are going to fight for the bid for London, we are going to win the bid for London, from Seb Coe to our very own Dame Tessa Jowell.

And you know what friends, we succeeded, because of one reason more than any other, we succeeded because of us. We succeeded because of us, us the British people, us the British people who welcomed the athletes from abroad, who cheered them on. Who found ourselves talking to each other each morning about what had happened at the Olympics the night before, in a way that we hadn’t talked to each other before. We succeeded because we came together as a country we worked together as a country. We joined together as a country. That’s why we achieved more than we imagined possible.

You know, I’ll just tell you this. I can’t remember a time like it in the whole history of my lifetime. I can’t remember a time like it, that sense of a country united, that sense of a country that felt it was together. That is the spirit this Labour Party believes in.

But I may not remember that spirit, but that spirit has echoed through British history. You know one hundred and forty years ago, one hundred and forty years ago to the year. Another Leader of the Opposition gave a speech. It was in the Free Trade Hall that used to stand opposite this building. It’s the Radisson now by the way. His name was Benjamin Disraeli. He was a Tory. But don’t let that but you off, just for a minute. His speech took over three hours to deliver, don’t’ worry, don’t worry, and he drank two whole bottles of brandy while delivering it. That is absolutely true. Now look, I just want to say, I know a speech that long would probably kill you. And the brandy would definitely kill me. But let us remember what Disraeli was celebrated for.

It was a vision of Britain. A vision of a Britain where patriotism, loyalty, dedication to the common cause courses through the veins of all and nobody feels left out. It was a vision of Britain coming together to overcome the challenges we faced. Disraeli called it “One Nation”. “One Nation”. We heard the phrase again as the country came together to defeat fascism. And we heard it again as Clement Attlee’s Labour government rebuilt Britain after the war.

Friends, I didn’t become leader of the Labour Party to reinvent the world of Disraeli or Attlee. But I do believe in that spirit. That spirit of One Nation. One Nation: a country where everyone has a stake. One Nation: a country where prosperity is fairly shared. One Nation: where we have a shared destiny, a sense of shared endeavour and a common life that we lead together. That is my vision of One Nation. That is my vision of Britain. That is the Britain we must become.

And here is the genius of One Nation. It doesn’t just tell us the country we can be. It tells us how we must rebuild. We won the war because we were One Nation. We built the peace because Labour government’s and Conservative, governments understood we needed to be One Nation. Every time Britain has faced its gravest challenge, we have only come through the storm because we were One Nation. But too often governments have forgotten that lesson.

With one million young people out of work, we just can’t succeed as a country. With the gap between rich and poor growing wider and wider, we just can’t succeed as a country. With millions of people feeling that hard work and effort are not rewarded, we just can’t succeed as a country. And with so many people having been told for so long that the only way to get on is to be on your own, in it for yourself, we just can’t succeed as a country. Yes friends, to come through the storm, to overcome the challenges we face, we must rediscover that spirit. That spirit the British people never forgot. That spirit of One Nation. One Nation. A country where everyone plays their part. A country we rebuild together.

So here is the big question of today. Who can make us One Nation? Who can bring Britain together? What about the Tories? What about the Tories? I didn’t hear you, what about the Tories?

Let me explain why, let me explain why. I want to talk very directly to those who voted for David Cameron at the last general election. I understand why you voted for him. I understand why you turned away from the last Labour government. This Government took power in difficult economic times. It was a country still coming to terms with the financial crisis. A financial crisis that has afflicted every country round the world. I understand why you were willing to give David Cameron the benefit of the doubt.

But I think we’ve had long enough to make a judgement. Long enough to make a judgement because they turned a recovery into the longest double dip recession since the war. Because there are more people looking for work for longer than at any time since the last time there was a Conservative government.

And here is the other thing, what about borrowing? Borrowing. The thing they said was their number one priority. This year borrowing is rising not falling. Let me just say that again. Borrowing the thing they said was the most important priority, the reason they were elected. It is rising not falling.

Not because there hasn’t been pain and tax rises and cuts affecting every family in this country. Not because they didn’t want to cut it borrowing. They did. Not because your services aren’t getting worse. They are. But because if you stop an economy growing, then it leaves more people out of work claiming benefits, not paying taxes. Businesses struggle so they’re not paying taxes. And as a result borrowing goes up. Borrowing not to invest in schools, in hospitals, transport and education. But borrowing to keep people idle. So the next time you hear a Conservative say to you Labour would increase borrowing, just remember it is this government that is increasing borrowing this year.

So what have we seen? We’ve seen recession, higher unemployment, higher borrowing. I don’t think that’s what people were promised. Now look there will be some people who say, and this is an important argument, they’ll be some people who say: ‘Well there is short-term pain but it is worth it for the long-term gain.’ But I’m afraid the opposite is true.

You see that the longer you have low growth in our country the bigger the debt hole becomes for the future and the bigger our problems will be in the future. The longer a young person is out of work that is not just bad for their prospects now; it is bad for their prospects for the whole of the rest of their lives. And if a small business goes under during the recession, it can’t just get back up and running again during the recovery.

So when David Cameron says to you: ‘Well let’s just carry on as we are and wait for something to turn up.’ Don’t believe him. Don’t believe him. If the medicine’s not working you change the medicine. And friends, I’ll tell you what else you change. You change the doctor too. And that is what this country needs to do.

Now look around you, you know the problem is the British people are paying the price of this government’s failure. You’re going to the petrol station and not filling up your tank because you can’t afford it. Your tax credits are being cut because the Government says it can’t afford it. Your frail mum and dad are not getting the care they need because the Government says it can’t afford it.

But there are some things this Government can afford. The wrong things. What do they think at this most difficult economic time is going to get us out of our difficulties? What do they choose as their priority? A tax cut for millionaires. A tax cut for millionaires. Next April, David Cameron will be writing a cheque for £40,000 to each and every millionaire in Britain. Not just for one year. But each and every year. That is more than the average person earns in a whole year. At the same time as they’re imposing a tax on pensioners next April. Friends, we, the Labour Party, the country knows it is wrong. It is wrong what they’re doing. It shows their priorities.

And here’s the worse part. David Cameron isn’t just writing the cheques. He is receiving one. He’s going to be getting the millionaire’s tax cut. So next week maybe Mr Cameron can tell us how much is he awarding himself in a tax cut? How much is that tax cut he is awarding himself? For a job I guess he thinks is a job well done. How many of his other Cabinet colleagues have cheques in the post from the millionaire’s tax cut? And how can he justify this unfairness in Britain 2012.

And of course let’s not forget this tax cut wouldn’t be happening without Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats. Isn’t it shameful that the party that supported, that implemented the People’s Budget of 1909, Lloyd George’s budget, is supporting the millionaire’s budget of 2012.

So that’s the reality in Britain today. It is a rebate for the top. It’s rip-off for everybody else. It’s a recovery for the top. It’s a recession for everybody else. This Prime Minister said: ‘We are all in it together.’ Don’t let him ever tell us again we are all in this together.

And friends I say this. You can’t be a One Nation Prime Minister if you raise taxes on ordinary families and cut taxes for millionaires. You can’t be a One Nation Prime Minister if all you do is seek to divide the country. Divide the country between north and south. Public and private. Those who can work and those who can’t work. And you can’t be a One Nation Prime Minister if your Chief Whip insults the great police officers of our country by calling them plebs.

But there is one thing that this Government might have claimed to be good at, and that is competence. Because after all, they think they’re born to rule. So maybe they’d be good at it. Have you ever seen a more incompetent, hopeless, out of touch, u-turning, pledge-breaking, make it up as you go along, back of the envelope, miserable shower than this Prime Minister and this Government?

There’s more there’s more, not quite Disraeli but there is more. What have we had. We’ve had the caravan tax, we’ve had the churches tax, we’ve had the pasty tax, we’ve had the granny tax, we’ve had panic at the pumps, we’ve had dinners for donors, we’ve had country supers with Rebekah Brooks. He even rode the horse. He sent the texts, he sent the texts. Remember LOL.

And now what do we have. We have the Minister for Murdoch becoming the Minister for the National Health Service. We have an International Development Secretary; she says she doesn’t believe in international development. And get this, we’ve got a Party Chairman who writes books about how to beat the recession, under a false name. Really, I’m not making this up; I’m really not making this up. I mean I have to say if I was Chairman of the Conservative Party, I’d have a false name too.

But here is my favourite one of all. There’s one more, here’s my favourite one of all. There is even a bloke, and I think they call him Lord Hill who went to see the Prime Minister. He made an appointment during the last reshuffle in order to resign. But David Cameron was too incompetent to notice that he wanted to resign. So Lord Hill is still in the Government. This lot are so useless they can’t even resign properly.

So they’re not going to build One Nation, so it is up to us.

And let me say to you, One Nation is not a way of avoiding the difficult decisions, it is a way of making the difficult decisions. And I’ve just got to be very clear about this and about what we face as the next Labour government. You see I think it is incredibly important that to be One Nation we must show compassion and support for all those who cannot work. Particularly the disabled men and women of our country. But in order to do so, those who can work have a responsibility to do so. We can’t leave people languishing out of work, for one year, two years, three years. We’ve got a responsibility to help them and they’ve got a responsibility to take the work that is on offer.

To be One Nation, we have got to give much greater dignity to our elderly population because you know, we’re going to have to tackle the care crisis that faces so many families up and down this country. And look, living longer should be one of the great virtues of the 21st century. But friends, in order to be able to afford to do that, we are going to have to work longer; have a later retirement age than we do now.

To be One Nation, we have got to live within our means. And because borrowing is getting worse not better, it means there will be many cuts that this Government made that we won’t be able to reverse even though we would like to. And that’s why we’ve said in this Parliament that we’d put jobs before pay in the public sector. And in the next Parliament we will have tough settlements for the public services and that will make life harder for those who use them and harder for those who work in them.

But here is the big difference between a One Nation government led by me, and this Government. Those with the broadest shoulders will always bear the greatest burden. I would never cut taxes for millionaires and raise them on ordinary families. That is wrong, that is not being One Nation. And here is the other thing, I will never accept an economy where the gap between rich and poor just grows wider and wider. In One Nation, in my faith, inequality matters. It matters to our country.

Now what does it mean to the Labour Party to be One Nation? It means we can’t go back to Old Labour. We must be the party of the private sector just as much as the party of the public sector. As much the party of the small business struggling against the odds, as the home help struggling against the cuts. We must be the party of south just as much as the party of the north. And we must be the party as much of the squeezed middle as those in poverty. There is no future for this party as the party of one sectional interest of our country.

But so too it is right to move on from New Labour because New Labour, despite its great achievements, was too silent about the responsibilities of those at the top, and too timid about the accountability of those with power. In One Nation responsibility goes all the way to the top of society. The richest in society have the biggest responsibility to show responsibility to the rest of our country. And I’ve got news for the powerful interests in our country, in One Nation no interest, from Rupert Murdoch to the banks, is too powerful to be held to account.

So we must be a One Nation party to become a One Nation government, to build a One Nation Britain. And here’s how we are going to take these steps to do that.

We need a One Nation economy and the first big mission of the next Labour government is to sort out our banks. Sort them out once and for all. Not just to prevent another crisis but to do what hasn’t been done in decades. Necessary to enable us to pay our way in the world. We need banks that serve the country not a country that serves its banks.

Think about Alan Henderson, the small businessman I talked about earlier on. He wanted to be able to go into his bank, look his high street manager in the eye and know that he was working for him. Instead he found a bank more interested in playing the international money markets. That’s why he was ripped off.

Of course, this government promised change, but things aren’t really changing. So I have got a message for the banks, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Either you fix it yourselves between now and the election or the next Labour government will once and for all ensure that the high street bank is no longer the arm of a casino operation and we will break you up by law.

Now look friends, there will be some people who say this is all too radical, let’s just carry in as we are. I say we can’t carry on as we are. We can’t carry on as we are, two nations not one. The banks and the rest of Britain. We must have a One Nation banking system as part of a One Nation economy.

Next, we need an education system that works for all young people. You see, to be a One Nation economy you have got to use all the talents of all of our young people. It’s not just that it’s socially right, it is absolutely essential for our economy for the future.

I remember when Chris and I were at Haverstock. I remember at Haverstock school, my comprehensive, the kids who were good at passing exams, who were academic, they could go to university and the world would just open up for them like it did for me. But think about all those kids who had talent and ability, great talent and ability. School just didn’t offer them enough. It was true twenty five years ago, and it is even more true today.

Just think in your minds eye about the 14 year old today. Today is a school day. Think about that 14 year old, not academic, already bored at school, maybe already starting that process of truanting, of not going to school. Now of course they need to get back to school and their parents need to get them back to school. They can’t afford to drift through life with no qualifications and Britain can’t afford for them to do it either. But we can’t just say to that 14 year old just put in the work, because we have been failing them too. You see for a long time our party has been focused on getting 50% of young people into university. I believe that was right. But now it’s time to put our focus on the forgotten 50% who do not go to university.

Here’s the choice that I want to offer to that 14 year old who is not academic. English and maths to 18 because rigour in the curriculum matters. But courses that engage them and are relevant to them. Work experience with employers. And then culminating at the age of 18 with a new gold standard qualification so they know when they are taking that exam they have a gold standard vocational qualification, a new Technical Baccalaureate. A qualification to be proud of. You know, we’ve got to change the culture of this country friends. We can’t be a country where vocational qualifications are seen as second class.

They are a real route to apprenticeships and jobs. They can be as valuable to our young people as a university degree. We need to make it so.

So we’ve got to change the culture in this country and there needs to be that real route to apprenticeships but let me tell you though, there is another problem. Only one in three large employers in Britain actually offers apprenticeships. And if anything, in the public sector the situation is far far worse. That is about a culture of a country. That’s about a culture of a country which hasn’t been dealt with for decades. It is the task of the next Labour government to do that. So the public sector is going to have to step up to the plate and understand we can’t be two nations. We can’t be two nations. And when the public sector offers contracts to the private sector the next Labour government will ensure that every private sector contract will only be awarded to a large company that trains the next generation with apprenticeships. Because when the public sector is having a contract with a private sector company, it is not just buying goods and services, it must be about building One Nation together. Public and private sectors joining together to do it.

And we need a new deal with British business. You get the money, you get control of the money for training, as you have long asked for, you set the standards, as you have long asked for. But you have a responsibility to make sure the training happens. In One Nation there is no place for free riding. Free riding where firms that don’t train poach workers from firms that do.

Now think about this vision of education. Education to the age of 18 with proper vocational qualifications, and then think about the vision on offer from the Conservatives. Michael Gove. Michael Gove, who wanted to bring back two-tier academic exams. I remember what that was like. O-levels and CSEs one whole group of young people written off. We are not going back to those days. Michael Gove who has contempt for vocational qualifications and has abolished some of the best vocational qualifications our country has. And Michael Gove who has nothing to say about education to 18.

So in education there really is a choice of two futures. Education for a narrower and narrower elite, with the Conservatives. Or a One Nation skills system as part of a One Nation economy with the next Labour government.

To be a One Nation economy we have to make life just that bit easier for the producers, and that bit harder for the predators. “Predators and producers”, I think one year on people know what I was talking about. You see businesses tell me that the pressure for the fast buck from City investors means they just can’t take the long view. They want to plan one year, two years, ten years ahead but they have to publish their accounts in Britain every 3 months. In line with the wishes of the best of British business, we will end that rule so companies in Britain can take the long term productive view for our country.

Companies in Britain are far more easily bought and sold than in many other countries. Do you know that when a takeover is launched the hedge funds and the speculators can swoop in for a quick profit. They are not acting in the interests of firms or the nation. They are just in it for the fast buck. It is wrong and we will change it.

And here is the thing, ladies and gentlemen, I invite British businesses - work with us in advance of the next Labour government. Let’s refound the rules of the game so we have a One Nation business model as part of a One Nation economy for our country.

So friends, in banks, in education in the rules of the game for companies –One Nation gives us an urgent call of change. But One Nation is not just about the things we need to change, it is about the things we need to conserve as well. Saying that doesn’t make me a Conservative. Our common way of life matters.

My vision of One Nation is an outward looking country. A country which engages with Europe and the rest of the world. I am incredibly proud to be the son of immigrant parents. I am incredibly proud of the multi-ethnic diverse Britain which won us the Olympic bid. The Olympics saw that kind of country here in Britain. But to make that Britain work. To make that vision work for our country, immigration must work for all and not just some. And friends, too often in the past we have overlooked those concerns, dismissed them too easily.

Here is how my approach is going to be different both from the last Labour government and this Conservative government. You see we need secure management of out borders, we need competent management of the system. But here is the big change, it is about the way our economy works. You see, immigration has really significant economic benefits but not when it is used to undercut workers already here and exploit people coming here.

The last Labour government didn’t do enough to address these concerns and the Tories never will. So the next Labour government will crack down on employers who don’t pay the minimum wage. We will stop recruitment agencies just saying they are only going to hire people from overseas. And we will end the shady practices, in the construction industry and elsewhere, of gang-masters. So we need a system of immigration that works for the whole country and not just for some.

You know there is no more important area of our common life than the United Kingdom itself. Now one of the four countries, Scotland, will be deciding in the next two years whether to stay or to go. I want to be quite clear about this, Scotland could leave the United Kingdom. But I believe we would be far worse off as a result. Not just in pounds and pence but in the soul of our nation. You see I don’t believe that solidarity stops at the border. I care as much about a young person unemployed in Motherwell as I do about a young person unemployed here in Manchester. We have common bonds, we have deep bonds with each other. The people of Scotland and the people of the rest of the United Kingdom. And by the way, if you think about the people of Scotland and the Olympic games, they weren’t cheering on just the Scottish athletes of Team GB, they were cheering on all the athletes of Team GB. That’s what the SNP don’t understand. And why would a party that claims to be left o f centre turn its back on the redistribution, the solidarity, the common bonds of the United Kingdom? Friends it is up to us. It is up to us, we the Labour Party must be the people who fight, defend and win the battle for the United Kingdom.

And after the United Kingdom itself there is no more important area of our common life than the NHS.

The magic of the NHS for me is that you don’t leave your credit card at the door. The NHS, it’s based on a whole different set of values, a whole different set of values that the people of Britain love. Not values of markets, money and exchange but values of compassion, care and co-operation. That is the magic of the NHS; that is why the British people love the NHS and I’m afraid the Tories have shown in government it’s something they just don’t understand.

Remember before the last election, remember those airbrushed posters? ‘I’ll protect the NHS’ with that picture of David Cameron. Remember those speeches? The three most important letters to me, he said, were N-H-S. It was a solemn contract with the British people. And then what did he do? He came along after the election and proposed a top-down reorganisation that nobody voted for, that nobody knew about and nobody wanted. And here’s the worst part. When it became unpopular he paused. Remember the pause? He said he wanted to listen, and what happened? The GPs said no. The nurses said no. The paediatricians said no. The radiologists said no. The patients said no. And the British people said no. And what did he do? He ploughed on regardless. He broke his solemn contract with the British people, a contract that can never be repaired.

Let me tell what I hate about this reorganisation; let me tell you what I hate. I hate the waste, I hate the waste of billions of pounds at a time the NHS has its worst settlement, its most difficult settlement for a generation. I hate the fact that there are 5,500 fewer nurses than when David Cameron came to power. Think of what he could have done if he hadn’t spent billions of pounds on that top-down reorganisation and had used the money to employ nurses, rather than sacking them. But here’s what I hate most of all. It’s that the whole way they designed this NHS reorganisation was based on the model of competition that there was in the privatised utility industry, gas, energy and water. What does that tell you about these Tories? What does that tell you about the way they don’t understand the values of the NHS? The NHS isn’t like the gas, electricity and water industries. The NHS is the pride of Britain. The NHS is based on a whole different set of values for our country. Friends, it just shows that the old adage is truer now than it ever was: You just can’t trust the Tories on the NHS.

So let me be clear, let me be clear, the next Labour government will end the free market experiment, it will put the right principles back at the heart of the NHS and it will repeal the NHS Bill.

So friends, this is where I stand. This is who I am. This is what I believe. This is my faith.

You know, I was talking to my mum this morning, as you do before a big speech, and she reminded me her mother was born in a small Polish village in 1909. I went back to that village with my mum about a decade ago. About 2,000 people live there and it’s quite an event having people from England coming over. It feels a long way from that village, and what my parents experienced, to this stage today. You see Britain has given my family everything. Britain has given my family everything. Britain and the spirit, the determination, the courage of the people who rebuilt Britain after the Second World War. And now the question is asked again: who in this generation will rebuild Britain for the future? Who can come up to the task of rebuilding Britain? Friends, it falls to us, it falls to us, the Labour Party. As it has fallen to previous generations of Labour Party pioneers to leave our country a better place than we found it. Never to shrug our shoulders at injustice and say that is the way the world is. To come together, to join together, to work together as a country.

It’s not some impossible dream. We’ve heard it, we’ve seen it, we’ve felt it. That is my faith.

One nation: a country for all, with everyone playing their part. A Britain we rebuild together.

THIS INCOMPETENT GOVERNMENT IS UNDERMINING OUR RAIL INDUSTRY

WILL THE NEW TRANSPORT SECRETARY HALT THE ROT?

Any doubts over Labour questioning this Government’s dubious process for awarding rail contracts have surely evaporated following this week’s revelations about the West Coast Main Line fiasco.

I mean, seriously, how much more evidence do we need of the Government’s utter incompetence?

At least £40m will be wasted reimbursing the four West Coast Main Line bidders, and all because of seemingly basic errors in the process around awarding the contract. It beggars belief.

But the most incredible thing is that the flawed decision to award a £5bn contract to FirstGroup so nearly slipped through the net.

A number of MPs, including myself, have been chasing answers on this very issue for months.

So why did the Government not do anything about it? Why did it take the threat of a legal challenge from Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Trains to force a rethink?

The Transport Secretary for most of that period was Justine Greening, somebody I have persistently lobbied for answers on her department’s handling of rail contracts.

Remember this is the same Government department that last year awarded the £1.4bn Thameslink contract to Siemens in Germany instead of Derby-based Bombardier. And ministers subsequently ignored calls by tens of thousands of Derbeians who petitioned for that decision to be reversed.

Was that the wrong decision? Of course it was. Did ministers reassure us that the decision offered better value for money for British taxpayers? Of course they did. Are there now even bigger question marks over their decision? Yes there are.

That is why I have written to Ms Greening’s replacement, Derbyshire Dales MP,Derbyshire Dales Derbyshire Patrick McLoughlin, asking that he takes this a little more seriously than she did.

We may be political opponents, but it’s difficult not to feel some sympathy for Patrick. He’s got to carry the can and face public humiliation over the West Coast decision when it is David Cameron who should be the one apologising.

He’s the one who appointed Justine Greening. He’s the one whose out-of-touch transport ministers allowed millions of pounds of public money to be poured down the drain. And he’s the one who brought his cabinet to Derby in March last year to say he would rebalance the economy in favour of manufacturing – then did the opposite.

What we now need from Mr McLoughlin are reassurances.

First, we need to know that the errors which have cost the country dear over the West Coast farce will not be repeated.

Second, we need a reassurance that the £1bn-plus Crossrail contract will be open and fair and that Bombardier will not be penalised like they were before.

And third, we need a further reassurance about last year’s decision on the contract to build the Thameslink trains.

The excuses we’ve heard already simply don’t wash in light of the scandal over West Coast Main Line franchise Particularly as we now know that at least one of the suspended civil servants who worked on the West Coast Main Line franchise also worked on the Thameslink contract. http://tinyurl.com/9tccyrb

The Bombardier workforce, the people of Derby and the country as a whole deserve proper answers to these questions, and I won’t rest until we get them.