Miliband gets clear run at Labour leadership as he gives four page interview to Mirror

Daily Mail 20 September 2008

David Miliband urged Labour party members to shake off their defeatism and 'pull together' behind embattled Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

In a four page interview with the Mirror, Miliband gave a series of rousing statements which would be expected from a party leader.

Ahead of the party's annual conference in Manchester, the Foreign Secretary outlined his vision for the future and a renewed party unity.

Alan Johnson yesterday ruled himself out of a future Labour leadership contest, clearing the way for Miliband to take the top job.

In an interview about the party's future, he praised the young Foreign Secretary, saying: 'David's got a great future in the party... he's a huge talent... I'm a great fan.'

Speaking of the Labour leadership, he said: 'I haven’t got any false modesty but I don’t aspire to that job.'

Despite being the favourite to replace Brown as Labour Party leader, Miliband insisted there was no 'vacancy' in the job.

On the way to Manchester, Miliband told the Daily Mirror: 'We've got good answers to the problems of the modern world.

'We've got to show we've got the idealism and the drive to address the new problems. Defeatism about the country won't win any medals.

'The Labour Party conference is a five-day opportunity for the party to put a strong, determined, clear, unified face before the public.

'It is time for the party to come together. I've made it clear I don't think it's the time for a leadership election. It's time to address the fundamental challenges - that's why it's the time to pull together.'

'This is a very testing time, but the point about tests is you pull together and you meet them. We need to show we understand the gravity of the challenges being put to the country, that we have the imagination and resolve to address them and the firmness of purpose to help people's lives.'

With Conservatives leading in the polls, Miliband criticised leader David Cameron for being insincere to voters and putting 'the con into Conservative'.

He said: 'We have to expose the emptiness. There's a hollow centre there - they say they don't want to make people less poor, but they want to spend less money on it.

'They say they want to have better schools, but want to cut the school building programme. They say they want progressive ends, but in fact Conservative means are going to destroy those ends.

'You've got Gordon and Alistair, who a year ago had to deal with Northern Rock, in the teeth of Tory opposition - and not a single depositor has lost any money on Northern Rock. And now you've got them acting decisively on Halifax.

'Then you've got David Cameron and George Osborne who opposed the rescue of Northern Rock and have no clue how they would deal with the current crisis.'