Don's Column

Politics as usual

The message that came out of the elections last week was that for the first time in over a decade the Tories are now a real threat to us.

The past 11 years have been an extraordinary time in British politics – never has the Labour Party been so dominant and the Tories so weak.All that has changed now – we have to accept that the Tories are now in a position to challenge us at the next General Election.

This presents a massive opportunity for the Labour Party - we now have to go on the offensive. We have to point out the divide between Labour and the Conservatives.

We should highlight the fact that David Cameron wants to cut taxes and spend more money and the absurdity of wanting a smaller state but still to be the champion of the people.

More, we have point out the complete nonsense of the Tories saying that they can mange the economy better than us when their last time in government was marked by two of the worst recessions in living memory.

David Cameron just does not stand up to scrutiny. As much as he has tried to transform the image of the Tories he still has not given any firm policy commitments save for some vague promises about being green. We should not be afraid to expose him.

We are still in a fundamentally strong position, the economy is bearing up well against the global credit crunch and we have a strong and experienced leader, whose economic policies laid the foundation for our success in government.

We can win the next General Election but we have to be more resolute than ever before in talking up our achievements and highlighting the Tories shortcomings.