THE SPEECH OF MY LIFE

I’d like to talk today, about courage.

As many of you will know, it is the one personal attribute that I believe, throughout history, has marked out the greatest men and women. Courage, or the ability to make serious personal sacrifice for the greater good of the wider community. I would never begin to imagine myself in the same league as some of those whose courage I wrote about in my last book, such as Edith Cavell and Nelson Mandela. But the time has come for me to show the kind of courage they did, the kind that makes a difference.

In recent weeks there has been talk of a challenge to my leadership of the party. Over the last few days this has developed into a call for me to take part in a leadership contest, like the one I should have held last year when Tony went. I would have won it then. But for me to stand now, fifteen months later, would only help to emphasise that the contest would solely be about leadership. And I have to accept that, whatever the truth, that is an area in which I have been perceived to have failed.

Now at last, comes an opportunity for me to show true leadership, and I hope, the kind of courage I have come to admire. And that is why, as of today, I am resigning as Prime Minister.

People who don’t wish to see a leadership contest have said this will throw Labour into turmoil. That would be true if we were a party, like the Tories in 1990, 1997, and even to a certain extent now, split down the middle by fundamental ideological differences. I don’t get any sense of a grassroots swelling of animosity against me, or that there is a large faction within the party fundamentally at odds with me. There is so much on which we are agreed, and which chimes with the current mood of the country. While a new beginning brings no guarantee of victory at the next election, it offers us far more hope than if I stay.

It would throw the party into turmoil if I was to show publicly, or even admit to, any bitterness at my failure to complete the job. No Prime Minister in my lifetime has ever wanted to quit the job, with the exception of John Major, who could see no way back for his party. Tony was, for all his faults, a great leader, but even he was unable to choose the time for his departure.

But after eleven years at the very pinnacle of British politics, despite the obvious failures, I can look back at many great achievements. What I understand now, is that it’s time for a fresh look at the problems facing Labour, and the country. I have, I accept, made many mistakes since becoming Prime Minister, but, with one exception, the reasons I cannot continue are nothing to do with them.

First, I should not have stayed on as Chancellor as long as I did. At the time it felt like the success of our project required Tony to be in charge of presentation, and putting the message across, while I ran the day-to-day affairs. And control of the Treasury is control over all Departments. But it laid me open to criticisms that I was not experienced enough across all areas of government, having held no other positions in the Cabinet. I dismissed those criticisms at the time – wrongly, I fear now.

Second, the phrase ‘no return to boom or bust’ will always come back to haunt me. It was a foolish boast, as was undoubtedly pointed out to me at the time. But hay, I’m human, and I have to say I really enjoyed that moment of schadenfreude. It will forever, though, remain my ‘back to basics’ moment.

Third, and most important, are the very real economic problems we face over the next couple of years. While many were undoubtedly caused by outside forces, the fact is that they have occurred on my watch, both as Chancellor and Prime Minister. It was me who presided over and encouraged the credit boom, me who de-regulated the city and me who allowed the free-for-all in the London housing market – against my instincts, but the short-term political success these bought made me challenge my normally sound judgement.

The mistake I made as Prime Minister was my handling of the 10 pence income tax rate. While I remain committed, long-term, to the eradication of poverty in the UK, I am also, instinctively, a politician. And if I can reclaim a policy that has always been considered Conservative, and make it part of Labour orthodoxy, this can often strengthen my beloved party and cause the Conservatives problems. The 10p tax rate may well have confused my enemies, but crucially, it also confused my friends. People who had remained loyal to me until then, and there were many, felt it went against my core beliefs. It doesn’t matter now who was right or wrong, importantly, it was the perception that did for me.

And now, what is needed more than ever in this country is a Labour government, a government that will react to downturn, not with the glee of a Margaret Thatcher, whose policies in the early 1980s caused so much devastation to our towns, villages and manufacturing industries, but with an instinctive desire for social justice, and an end to poverty.

People say there is no one qualified enough to take the helm but what of the alternatives? How qualified is David Cameron to lead us out of the current situation, or his newly-converted sidekick Nick Clegg? A debate has started in our own party, one I understand now I should have initiated before taking over as Prime Minister, and there is a broad consensus about the need for change.

We need regulation of the city, fairer taxation, and, arguably, increased borrowing to protect our public services. I understand that I am no longer the man who can deliver these things. But Labour remains the only party equipped to do so.

A new leader can openly acknowledge all the things I have shied away from saying, for fear of upsetting a right-wing press we have now lost. A new leader can admit, as even the CBI does, that the Unions are no longer part of the problem but part of the solution. A new leader can adopt an aggressively green agenda, the one David Cameron offered but then retracted. A new leader is no longer bound to keep in line with American economic and military policy. A new leader and a rejuvenated party that re-connects with its core beliefs will force the Tories to confront their own. For all their popularity in the opinion polls, they remain a deeply divided party who have yet to work through their own Clause Four moment.

I wish whoever takes over from me the best of luck. We may not win, but unlike the Tories in 1997, we owe it to the country not to give up without a fight.