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.
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