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On Christmas Day, as our kids and grandchildren excitedly look to see what Santa has brought them, four million children will wake up in poverty.

They won’t have turkey with all the trimmings.

They’ll be eating whatever Mum and Dad can get from a foodbank.

Some will be suffering from rickets, a condition that was common in the Victorian era.

Around 130,000 children will be homeless and over 4,000 people will be sleeping rough on our streets.

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And tens of thousands of patients have had their operations cancelled until the New Year to try to lessen the impact of the now yearly Tory- induced winter crisis in hospitals.

The crisis will be handled by overstretched and underpaid hospital workers who have seen a 14 per cent real-terms cut in their pay since 2010.

It breaks my heart to see what seven years of Conservative misrule has done to this country.

A country that, under a Labour government, lifted a million kids out of poverty and invested in our schools, our hospitals and our people.

And as we face a chaotic depart-ure from the European Union, getting Brexit without a proper trading deal with the rest of Europe will lead to rising prices, hit jobs, affect investment in our public services and squeeze living standards even further.

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It looks like being a very unhappy New Year for people across this country.

Which is why Labour’s New Year’s resolution must be to clearly set out its plans.

Labour under Jeremy Corbyn had a remarkable 2017. It started off at the beginning of the General Election campaign 25 percentage points behind the Tories.

Commentators wrote us off. As did many of Labour’s own MPs.

But, like a Christmas miracle, Labour turned it around with a manifesto that put forward radical but credible policies to transform Britain.

Like Blair did in 1997, Corbyn gave people hope.

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Labour gained 30 seats and forced May into a minority government, clinging on to power with a £1billion present to the Democratic Unionist Party.

We end 2017 with Labour still level with the Tories in the polls.

Labour must kick on in 2018, as I agree with Corbyn that there’s a strong chance there may be an ­election in the next 12 months.

So here’s my Christmas list to the other jolly man with the white beard:

I would rule out a second EU referendum. The people had their say and holding another will be divisive and probably deliver the same result.

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Instead, let’s explain how our nations and regions will benefit from Brexit.

It’s pointless to take back control of funding and powers from Brussels if we’re just going to leave both with southern-obsessed Tories and faceless Whitehall civil servants.

Let’s push power and money closer to the people.

Secondly, I predict housing will be one of the most important issues of the next election. Give councils the money and the resources and they will build the houses we need.

Let’s look at building council and truly affordable homes on publicly-owned brownfield sites, using cheaper fabricated homes.

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When I was Deputy Prime Minister I proved you could build these houses for just £60,000.

And let’s scrap Thatcher’s Right to Buy council house scheme.

With a million people on the waiting list, it’s a scandal that over 40 per cent of these homes are in the hands of profiteering private landlords.

Finally, Labour must be ready for an election at any moment. That means getting more of the half a million members out on the doorstep talking to voters.

The plan to help members put together grassroots campaigns is a good idea.

But we need to recapture that spirit of the 2017 campaign and go even further to get more young people involved.

So for those of you lucky enough to be giving and receiving presents, enjoy your Christmas.

But the gift this country desperately needs is the return of a Labour government.