David Blunkett quits as MP amid election warning for Labour

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jun/21/david-blunkett-quits-election-labour-miliband

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Labour could find itself in the political wilderness for another 15 years if it does not win the upcoming general election, former cabinet minister David Blunkett has warned.

His comments came after he announced he will stand down as an MP next year. Blunkett claimed that a Conservative victory in 2015 would result in a government focused on sidelining Labour , thereby keeping it out of office perhaps until 2030. But Blunkett said he believed Ed Miliband was the only only man for the job of leading the party and would win the election next year.

"He is the only man and he is the only man because he is our leader. Nobody is going to challenge him, he is in a unique position, actually because Tony Blair was bedevilled and in the latter days so was Gordon Brown. Ed is free of that," he said.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Saturday, Blunkett added: "Ed Miliband will lead us to victory, I believe he can and I believe he will.

"I think we would be in the wilderness for as much as 15 years because all the changes that the Conservative majority government would bring in would actually not be about fairness or equity or even sharing power, it would be about excluding the Labour party."

Blunkett said that a Conservative government that pursued that course of action would be threatening everything he has fought for in more than five decades as a Labour member.

"We are talking about the future of the people we care about, we are talking about how we handle continuing levels of austerity and fairness, and whether the rich get richer and those at the very, very sharp end of austerity measures, the loss of public services gets worse," he said.

"Yes, we are talking about whether the vehicle for achieving everything that I stood for, and I have been in the Labour party for 51 years, would be made that much more difficult by victory in 2015 by the Conservatives," Blunkett added.

Blunkett's comments come amid rising tension within the Labour party over Miliband's leadership, with frontbench MPs set to warn him that he will have to resign as leader if he loses the general election next year.

As concern grows that the Labour leader is failing to connect with voters, MPs across the party are saying Labour would need a fresh start if Miliband were defeated. "Ed really cannot stay on if he loses – that really would not work," one frontbencher said. "He has to go if we lose," said another.

Blunkett, 67, told his constituency party in Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough that he would not seek re-election in next year's contest, ending a career as an MP that began in 1987.

He twice resigned from Cabinet posts under Tony Blair but told local party members that standing down was "by far the most difficult political decision I have ever made, in a lifetime of extremely difficult decisions".

The former home secretary said: "Next year will see 10 years on the backbenches, five in opposition. Whilst I have been able to use the experience and the clout which came from having been a cabinet minister for the benefit of the constituency in getting a hearing, contributing to policy and providing a voice for local people and for Sheffield at national level, it is clear that the leadership of the party wish to see new faces in ministerial office and a clear break with the past.

"For me, being in a position to make decisions and thereby make a difference, has always been paramount, and I hope in future to continue to promote our success and values, and to make a continuing contribution to public service and the social and voluntary sector."

Blunkett served as education secretary, home secretary and work and pensions secretary under Tony Blair. He resigned as home secretary in 2004 after a visa application for ex-lover Kimberly Quinn's nanny was fasttracked. An official inquiry found a "chain of events" linking him to the speeding up of a visa application.

Less than 12 months later, his return to the cabinet as work and pensions secretary ended in resignation amid a row over his business interests.

Blunkett, who served as leader of Sheffield council before becoming an MP, joked that 45 years of advice surgeries is enough for anyone. His decision leaves a vacancy in a safe Labour seat, which he won with a 13,632 majority in 2010.

Miliband said: "David Blunkett is a man whose commitment and determination have carried him to the highest positions in politics with one purpose: to serve the people of our country. He will be hugely missed."

"He has been a friend to me during my time as leader. I have valued and counted on his advice and wisdom. Every Labour leader under whom he served would have said the same. He is Labour through and through."