What future for Labour - part two

The first of the afternoon session started off chaired by Richard Caborn MP, who after a brief introduction passed on to Linda McAvan, MEP, who started off with the usual details on the good deeds of Europe and how Europe should start to focus more on current concerns such as climate change etc, rather that its recent focus on institutional issue’s such as the constitution.

She then spoke on the Services Directive which in my view for some of the measurers suggested quite rightly got criticism, and how it was rejected by MEP’s from across Europe, and how we need to have a debate on the social model that we follow.

Hillary Benn MP, one of the declared candidates in the forthcoming deputy leadership election spoke next, with a fairly passionate speech on area’s within his current brief of international development.

He spoke on the need for further changes in the area, and on how we need forward the agenda on issues of international development, by considering further debit relief, the need for changes at the UN, Palestine and the global framework needed to tackle the climate change. In closing he also mentioned the need for a renewed belief in politics, overall a good performance from one of the candidates for the deputy leadership.