91Èȱ¬

A young MP from the North East begins his bid to become Labour leader with a speech in his constituency in front of local party members.

He goes on to win the contest, and three elections for his party.

That, of course, was Tony Blair. The year 1994.

But in 2010, can David Miliband follow the same pattern to success?

It's certainly started in similar vein.

He's another young Labour MP beginning a bid for leadership . The only apparent change - the speaker and the venue (the Customs House in South Shields rather than Trimdon Labour Club).

But there are differences.

In 1994, Labour was the coming force in politics. A tired Tory government looked ripe for the taking.

16 years on, and it's Labour that's tired, out of office, and out of touch with large numbers of the electorate.

And so there were admissions of failure from David Miliband in his speech, acknowledging Labour had not just lost, but "lost badly".

A failure to appreciate the concerns of voters in South Shields and beyond about immigration, anti-social behaviour and education was partly to blame .

But he also pointed to a failure by Labour to modernise the relationship of the party with its members and the voters.

But there was also a desire to move on.

The Blair-Brown era was over, he said. The divisions between the two camps irrelevant. Crucial, you sense because there is a danger David Miliband could lose out by being seen as the Blairite candidate.

.

There was some thoughtful stuff about what Labour should stand for, empowering the individual but also offering the protection of the state.

And his electoral roots in the North East showed through in the talk of the need for the "politics of belonging" - acknowledging the need for politicians to appreciate what communities look like from the "semi detached house or the tower block" and not just Westminster.

What was missing though was tubthumping passion. This was often cool, hard analysis.

There was talk of idealism, and of Labour's record, but perhaps not the inspiration that some party members may be searching for.

After defeat and 13 years of the compromises of government, some of the party may yearn to feel good again about themselves and the Labour cause.

This speech probably didn't offer that. Instead David Miliband will have to hope Labour members want to be reflective and consider the changes needed to get them back into office.

He'll also have to hope they decide it's David and who has those answers.

So far Miliband Snr has won the support of 20 or so MPs, including Tynemouth's Alan Campbell, Sedgefield's Phil Wilson and Sunderland Central's Julie Elliott.

Oh, and of course many members in South Shields.

But he's now heading off for a tour around the country to try and convince others that Labour should again place its trust in a leader from the North East.

• Bookmark with:
• del.icio.us |
• Digg |
• Newsvine |
• |
• Reddit
• - What's this?