Miliband: Labour (UK) must offer real change to win fourth term

David Miliband today set out his vision of how Labour can win the next election, insisting the party needs to offer “real change”.

The UK Foreign Secretary said Labour needed a “summer of introspection”, adding the “starting point is not debating personalities”.

However, many political commentators will interpret the wide-ranging remarks, made in a newspaper article, as the launch of a leadership bid.

Mr Miliband is seen as a front-runner to succeed UK prime minister Gordon Brown, who is coming under increasing pressure to resign.

Writing in The Guardian, Mr Miliband said: “New Labour won three elections by offering real change, not just in policy but in the way we do politics.

“We must do so again. So let’s stop feeling sorry for ourselves, enjoy a break, and then find the confidence to make our case afresh.”

He warned the party must not yield to “fatalism”, arguing that the next election can still be won.

And he called for a more mature relationship with the electorate with the politicians needing to be more humble about their shortcomings.

Mr Miliband did not make any overt criticism of the UK Prime Minister, but neither does the article suggest Mr Brown is the only man for the job.

He said that with hindsight the UK government should have started NHS reforms sooner and planned better for how to win peace in Iraq.

And he said the UK government needed a “clearer drive” to tackle climate change and cut energy bills, with a low-carbon, energy-efficient economy.

Mr Miliband said: “Now we need the imagination to distribute more power and control to citizens over the education, healthcare and social services they receive.

“So is the challenge to society – to build a genuine sense of belonging and responsibility on the back of greater protection from outside risks and greater control of local issues.”

He attacks the UK Conservative leader for lacking a “restlessness for change”, accusing him of being a “a politician of the status quo”.

He added, unlike with former leader Margaret Thatcher, it is not clear what David Cameron stands for.

“Every member of the Labour Party carries with them a simple guiding mission on the membership card: to put power, wealth and opportunity in the hands of the many, not the few. When debating public service reform, tax policies or constitutional changes, we apply those values to the latest challenges.

“What is on Cameron’s party card? What is his vision for Britain? He doesn’t have one.”

The remarks come after Leader of the Commons Harriet Harman was forced to deny plotting against the UK Prime Minister.

She insisted she was not preparing a campaign to take over at Number 10, and reiterated her loyalty to Mr Brown.

She also rejected reports that in the wake of the Glasgow East by-election defeat she had been overheard telling aides: “This is my moment.”

Pressure has been increasing on Mr Brown since last week’s ballot box humiliation, with several backbenchers openly calling for him to consider his position.

There have been reports that around 10 junior UK government members could quit in protest if the Prime Minister does not agree to step down soon.