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Forest West Constituency Labour Party
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Quotations from Labour Politicians: NEIL KINNOCK - Bournemouth, 1st October 1985
NEIL KINNOCK - Llandudno, 15th May 1987 "We cooperate , we collect together, we coordinate so that everyone can contribute and everyone can benefit, everyone has responsibilities, everyone has rights. That is how we put care into action. That is how we make the weak strong, that is how we lift the needy, that is how we make the sick whole, that is how we give talent the chance to flourish" TONY BLAIR - Blackpool, 4th October 1994
On the morning of 2 May 1997, Britain’s first Labour Prime Minister for 18 years, Tony Blair, addressed the nation: "As I stand here before Number 10 Downing Street I know all too well the huge responsibility that is upon me and the great trust that the British people have placed in me. I know well what this country has voted for today, it is a mandate for new Labour and I say to the people of this country we ran for office as new Labour, we will govern as new Labour. This was not a mandate for dogma, or for doctrine or a return to the past, but it was a mandate to get those things done in our country that desperately need doing for the future of Britain. And this new Labour government will govern in the interests of all our people, the whole of this nation, that I can promise you. When I became leader of the Labour Party some three years ago, I set a series of objectives for the Labour Party and by and large I believe that we have achieved them. Today we have set objectives for a new Labour government: a world-class education system in which education is not the privilege of the few but the right of the many in our country;a new Labour government that remembers that it was a previous Labour government that formed and fashioned the welfare state and the National Health Service,it was our proudest creation,it shall be our job and our duty now to modernise it for a modern world and that we will also do; we will work in partnership with business to create the dynamic economy, the competitive economy of the future, the one that can meet challenges of an entirely new century and new age and it will be a government that seeks to restore trust in politics in this country, that cleans it up, that decentralises it,that gives people hope once again that politics is, and should be always, about the service of the public;and it shall be a government too that gives this country strength and confidence in leadership both at home and abroad, particularly in respect of Europe; it shall be a government rooted in strong values, the values of justice and progress and community, the values that have guided me all my political life, but a government ready with the courage to embrace the new ideas necessary to make those values live again for today’s world, a government of practical measures in pursuit of noble causes. That is our objective for the people of Britain. Above all, we have secured a mandate to bring this nation together, to unite as one Britain, one nation, in which our ambition for ourselves is matched by our sense of compassion and decency and duty towards other people. Simple values but the right ones. For 18 years, 18 long years, my party has been in opposition. It could only say, it could not do. Today we are charged with the deep responsibility of government. Today, enough of talking, it is time now to do."
TONY BLAIR - Brighton, 30th September 1997 "And we need to bring a change to the way we treat each other as citizens of our society. I tell you: a decent society is not based on rights. It is based on duty. Our duty to each other. To all should be given opportunity, from all responsibility demanded. The duty to show respect and tolerance to each other....But there are no old Labour and new Labour values. There are Labour values. They are what make us the party of compassion; of social justice; of the struggle against poverty and inequality; of liberty; of basic human solidarity; and the day we cease to be those things is the day we keep the name of the Labour party but lose the reason for it's existence." TONY BLAIR - Brighton, 26th September 2000 "...All based on our enduring mission, to offer everyone, not just the privileged few, the chance to succeed. And lighting our path is this belief: that today a strong economy and a strong society are two sides of the same coin. To succeed as an economy we develop the talents of all. To be a fair society, we give opportunity to all. The political consequences are historic; self-interest and the common good are at long last in alliance." TONY BLAIR - Speech to Christian Socialist Movement, London, 29th March 2001 "Our values are clear. The equal worth of all citizens, and their right to be treated with equal respect and consideration despite their differences, are fundamental. So too is individual responsibility, a value which in the past the Left sometimes underplayed. But a large part of individual responsibility concerns the obligations we owe one to another. The self is best realised in community with others. Society is the way we realise our mutual obligations – a society in which we all belong, no one left out..........The purpose of society is to empower the individual; to enable them to fulfil not just their economic potential but their potential as citizens. This is a contract between us all, based on mutual responsibility. When we say that everyone able to do so has a clear responsibility to find a job and look after their family, we don’t therefore say that government has no role. On the contrary, with policies such as the New Deal, the minimum wage and the Working Families Tax Credit, society through Government is harnessing national resources to see that work pays, that job seekers get the support they need to find jobs, and that those with family responsibilities get the extra help they require without having to go back onto benefit." | Constituency Profile | Govt AchievementsTory Talk | Local Issues | Local Party Details Labour History | Links | What's New
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"If socialism is to be successful in this country, it must relate to the
practical needs and the mental and moral traditions of the men and women of this
country. We must emphasize what we have in common with those people who are our
neighbours, workmates and fellow countrymen and women" 
"A belief in society. Working together. Solidarity. Cooperation.
Partnership. These are our words. This is my socialism. And we should stop
apologizing for using the word. It is not the socialism of Marx or state
control. It is rooted in a straightforward view of society. In the understanding
that the individual does best in a strong and decent community of people with
principles and standards and common aims and values. We are the party of the
individual because we are the party of community. It is social-ism."