It's Gordon and Harriet

I was up in Manchester today for the Leadership Conference, held in the Bridgewater Hall. It was a really positive event, and it was nice to see Lambeth well represented there.

The announcement of the results for Deputy Leader were pure political theatre, with twists, turns and suspense throughout. There were gasps as the results were read out by Mike Grffiths of the NEC, and consolatory applause as one candidate was knocked out of each round.

Finally, it came down to two candidates - Alan Johnson, tipped by many as the favourite (who had been nominated by Streatham CLP) and Harriet Harman, who eventually won. Sky News had announced Johnson as the winner minutes before the announcement, only to have to retract and apologise, proving the old saying about Sky - "never wrong for long".

Coming out of the hall, there were a lot of long faces, and a lot of shocked ones. I went to the bar with some friends and we watched as various followers of various candidates got their bags and drifted home.

This all goes to show that the Labour Party can do the surprising thing, even surprise itself. She's only been elected for a matter of hours, but I have no doubt that Harriet will be a notable Deputy Leader, who will attract many people back to the party, and new members too.

I spoke to an old friend from '97 on the phone this evening and he said, wisely: "Harriet wanted it enough. The others didn't. She won." And now that she has won, we should all support her to do the job.

It was a historic occasion - seeing Gordon Brown accept the leadership, and Tony Blair standing down. Gordon made an acceptance speech that was ambitious, substantial and serious, with much for local government to think about. The poll results today - putting Labour significantly ahead of the Tories - stand us in good stead as we embark on a new era of Labour government.

Lambeth's X-it project shows strong practice

I'm pleased to report that a youth project in Lambeth, X-it, was highly commended in a Home Affairs Committee Report out today on young black people and over-representation in the criminal justice system.

MPs on the committee contacted young people from Lambeth’s X-it programme who gave evidence for the report.

One young person gave her views on the programme this morning, outlining her experience of young people and crime in the area. The reporter mentioned she was part of a successful Lambeth programme that has prevented re-offending in over 70 percent of cases.

BBC News Twenty Four and the Today programme did interviews this morning at the Marcus Lipton Youth Centre, with young people on the project, myself and project organiser Julia Wolton.

Two other Today programme pieces on the Home Affairs Committee report included a broadcast from the Boyhood to Manhood centre in Peckham and an interview with Kids Company founder Camilla Batmangheldjh.

The core of prejudice at the heart of Cameron’s Conservatives

It has emerged that almost two thirds of Conservatives apparently believe that immigration has not “been good for Britain”, according to a survey carried out by a leading Conservative website, whilst only a third of Conservatives would attend a civil partnership ceremony.

The findings were published by ConservativeHome, at:

http://conservativehome.blogs.com/torydiary/2007/06/is_this_you.html

The survey results state that only 34.4% of the 1,294 Conservatives who took part in the survey considered that “immigration had been largely good for Britain”, whilst only 66.3% would “go to a civil partnership ceremony if invited by a friend.”

This survey shows the core of prejudice at the heart of Cameron’s Conservatives. Labour equality activists from the BME and LGBT communities have maintained that divisive Tory attitudes are alive and as insidious as ever, and here is the proof. It seems that David Cameron has so far managed to chloroform dissent within his ranks, but it is now reviving.

These findings will come as a shock to many people in Lambeth for example, where the Conservatives affect a cuddly image. When Tories express their real views they prove that only Labour has the commitment and the support from within to promote equality, whilst the Tories remain as entrenched in their attitudes as ever. They still have a long distance to travel from lip service to genuine belief.