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During the 2010 Labour Conference season the Fabians are encouraging you to tweet us your Miligrams - short messages of advice to the new Labour leader - using the hashtag #miligrams. You can read the full list of Miligrams as they come in here. To kick us off, the Fabian Review also asked 70 people to give us their first messages of advice, which follow.
Neil Kinnock: Achieve the impossible - don't let the bastards ever grind you down. Stryker McGuire (former editor of Newsweek, now contributing editor): As Ronald Reagan (sorry) might put it, stay the course. Learn from your overall electoral success of the last 13 years and the good you did; don't throw it all away. Billy Bragg, musician: Make my vote count. Jason Cowley, Editor of The New Statesman: As we grapple with the consequences of state and market failure, think equality but also localism: democracy all the way up and all the way down. Baroness Thornton: If you do want a second chamber please hurry up and reform us - we are too big, too unwieldy and not democratic. Stick to your decision and go for it! Chi Onwurah: For both Party and leader, debate and controversy weaken the weak and strengthen the strong. Be strong! Polly Toynbee: Defy the Tory press. Restore pre-Thatcher media ownership laws to break up Murdoch's empire, let all media owners be UK tax-payers. Don't be afraid! Robert Skidelsky, professor of political economy, politician, writer, prize-winning biographer of JM Keynes, syndicated columnist, Russia expert: “We can't spend money we don't have”, “National Debt will burden future generations”: demolish these economically illiterate Osbornisms. Michael Freeden, Professor of Politics, University of Oxford: Recall and re-energize your strong commitment to human welfare and individual flourishing—Britain’s proudest achievement over the past century. Denis Macshane MP: Go, do, be international. Labour fails when it does inbred, navel-gazing, national stuff. Tories will always out-nasty us on Europe. Be EU-relaxed. Shaista Gohir MBE, Executive Director of Muslim Womens Network UK: Understand what women want to win back their votes - a few photos and words are not enough. Brian H Donohoe MP: Remember the two Harolds’ (Wilson and Macmillan) statements when in power: “A week’s a long time in Politics” and “Events, dear boy, Events”. Catherine Ashton: Move on from the old pro-EU / anti-EU debate. Treat the EU as your practical ally in achieving your goals on human rights, climate change, development and foreign policy Gregg McClymont MP: We must repeat in simple language that the public finances aren’t like a household budget – deep, rapid cuts are unnecessary. John Mann MP: Install renewable technology, and give every council house pensioner free energy. Councils and manufacturers should split the capital cost and buyback of excess power supplied to the national grid. Angela Smith MP: Beware of the ‘Yes People’. If you want to build an enduring social democracy in the UK, do not hear only what you want to hear. Karen Buck: Rebuild trust in politics, in society, in business. Let’s start by acting as though we genuinely LIKE the people we are elected to serve. Tom Porteous, Director, Human Rights Watch: Acknowledge the damage done by Labour’s counter terrorism policies, firmly repudiate them and establish Labour as a staunch defender of human rights. Sadiq Kahn MP: We lost the election: this means no policy should be a sacred cow. Our values and pragmatism should guide our future direction. Gisela Stuart MP: Don’t take being “leader” for granted. You’ll have to earn the respect of voters, volunteers and party members alike. Ben Bradshaw MP: Fight on the progressive centre and target inequality. Woo unhappy LibDems and adopt daylight saving. Most importantly, pace yourself. Tom Watson MP: Put the digital age at the heart of our progressive programme and see society transformed. Sunny Hundal, Editor of Liberal Conspiracy: Have a clear narrative that supports a strong agenda and hammer that endlessly. Labour loses when it's indecisive and aimless. Ben Page, Chief Exec, Ipsos Mori: Accept you lost. Accept that you will need to be different in future. Accept that the state grew too big. Precisely and calmly make your case. Wait for the moment. Conor Foley, humanitarian aid worker: Liberal interventionism' led to Labour's biggest foreign policy blunder. Look south, particularly to India and Brazil, for inspiration, guidance and allies. Larry Whitty: The challenges are clear: reversing growing inequality, tackling climate change and repositioning Britain in the world. We need new policies - fast. Alex Cunningham MP: Let’s pledge now to build half a million Council/Housing Association houses in our first five years back in Government. Tom Greatrex MP: Remember manufacturing is about jobs and the future, not history and the past. Julian Hunt: Emeritus Professor of Climate Modelling in the Department of Earth Sciences and Honorary Professor of Mathematics at University College London, Sustainable policies are needed across the board: with green jobs in services and industry, and security for vulnerable communities world-wide. Lord Soley: Give local councils the duty to end child poverty with MP's reporting progress to Parliament. More power to councils; more strategy for MP's. Jonathan Heawood, Director of English Pen: Reclaim the radical energy of civil liberties and establish Labour as the only party that marries social justice and human rights. Kenneth Morgan (history professor): Labour should re-affirm its radicalism. It should echo Tawney and say that the party should champion equality of resources alongside equality of power. Baroness Doreen Massey: Resist the any narrowing of the curriculum with the growth of faith schools: this will impact on the rights of children. Alexander Hilton MP: PLURALISM. People can be trusted, party members can be trusted; and in a new media era command and control is doomed to failure. Anthony Barnett, founder of OpenDemocracy: Labour needs to replace the welfare state with a citizens state - with real equality inspired by a democratic party. Jonathan Reynolds MP: Engage vigorously in the strategic defence review: the coalition effort on this is an exercise in cuts rather than a serious look at the UK's defence and security needs. Bill Esterson MP: Get back in touch with the British people, listen to what they say, keep listening and then act on what they say. Simon Heffer, Associate Editor, The Daily Telegraph: Own up to, and apologise for, the economic catastrophe for which the last Labour government was responsible. Baroness Blackstone: Establish the best team of shadow ministers you can and appoint them to the same portfolio they have shadowed when we win the election. Andrew Harrop, Director of Policy and Public Affairs, Age UK: New Labour failed to save care in old age. This safety net for the most vulnerable now faces collapse. Make lasting care reform your legacy. Toby Perkins MP: If you don't believe in the decisions you take, no-one will. Consider all opinions carefully, then make your decision and stick by it. Lord Toby Harris: London is the engine of the UK economy: a future Labour Government must strive to maintain London as the greatest city in the world. Douglas Alexander MP: Winning requires ideas and organisation – so build a popular movement in every community that will help us win again. Frances Crook, The Howard League: Reroute justice money from prisons to neighbourhoods to keep people safe, reduce crime and have fewer prisoners. Mary Creagh MP, Make sure the public health gains of Labour’s 13 years are not squandered by the Condem cuts to welfare and housing budgets. Valerie Vaz MP, Women must be brought into mainstream society, their variety of skills and experience harnessed for dynamic future social and economic growth. Rachel Reeves MP, The Tory plans for cuts risk a double dip recession. The new leader needs to show how Labour would grow the economy not ruin it with a proper industrial strategy. Dave Anderson MP: We acted in good faith and prevented a recession becoming a depression: we should stand up and say so. Andrew Miller MP: We cannot afford to see any dilution of Labour’s science policy that had a real impact on the UK’s success over the last 13 years. Kate Green MP: The poor need more: let's be bold, radical and proud of a fiscal policy that redistributes income and wealth. Michael Connarty MP: The Fairness agenda motivates most voluntary and civil society groups. We must make sure their contribution is recognised and properly resourced. Iain Dale, Conservative political commentator: No one will be interested in Labour for a couple of years. Get used to that as you think & plan for the long term. Ian Mulheirn, The Social Market Foundation: Engage in a constructive debate about the cuts, with concrete alternative proposals - the only way to establish a credible alternative. Lord Hunt Deal: With education inequalities with a comprehensive system that ditches academies and selection. Baroness Gale: All women must receive support and positive measures to ensure that, in all walks of life, discrimination against women will be eliminated. David Blunkett MP: As Tony Blair said at Conference 2006, 'The worst ministers are those who can't, or won't, take decisions'. Pat Mcfadden MP: Fight the battles of today and tomorrow, not of yesterday, and set out a vision of recovery for the whole country, not just some parts. Anas Sarwar MP: We must build a society with equality and fairness as its guiding principles so that everyone, no matter their background, can match aspiration with achievement. Fiona MacTaggart MP: The critical moment will be the first conference speech. The new leader will have the chance to paint a vision and inspire the people in a way that Gordon did not. Sampson Law, UNISON: Fight the cuts in the spending review on 20th October and tackle the myths on public sector pensions Tony Berkeley, Rail Freight Group: Commit to achieving accessible, affordable and convenient public transport, and dramatic carbon reduction targets in the freight sector. Willie Bain MP: Be credible on the economy and jobs, but radical in applying our principles to secure a fairer distribution of wealth, assets and power in society. Simon Danczuk MP: Labour should not be spellbound by big business and make the revival of entrepreneuralism and small businesses a priority. Andrew Slaughter MP: Make the same commitment to good quality, affordable housing that we make to healthcare and education. Graham Allen MP: Resist easy oppositionalism, promote a long term view on the economy, political chance and early intervention, plan for a ten year term.
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