Labour’s leadership election has been an extraordinary demonstration of grassroots democracy and public participation, which has turned the conventional wisdom about politics on its head. We have drawn in hundreds of thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds from across the country, far beyond the ranks of longstanding activists and campaigners.

Who can now seriously claim that young people aren’t interested in politics or that there is no appetite for a new kind of politics?

Above all, it has shown that millions of people want a real alternative, not business as usual, either inside or outside the Labour party.

The hope of change and bringing big ideas in is now back at the centre of politics: ending austerity, tackling inequality, working for peace and social justice at home and abroad. That’s why the Labour party was founded more than a century ago.

This election has given that founding purpose a new force for the 21st century: a Labour party that gives voice to the 99%.

The scale of Saturday’s vote is an unequivocal mandate for change from a democratic upsurge that has already become a social movement. I am honoured and humbled by the confidence that has been shown in me by our members and supporters and I will give everything I have to repay that confidence.

We fought and won on the basis of policies, not personalities, without abuse or rancour. For the absolute avoidance of doubt, my leadership will be about unity, drawing on all the talents – with women representing half of the shadow cabinet – and working together at every level of the party.



Our aim is to bring into the heart of the party the hundreds of thousands who have taken part in the leadership, deputy leadership and London mayoral elections. We will succeed by making Labour a movement once more.

It’s also about putting democracy in command. This is not going to be about the leader issuing edicts from on high. My leadership will be about bringing together ideas from all levels of the party and Labour movement, from the backbench as well as the front bench, drawing inspiration from a hugely expanded party in the communities and using everyone’s talents to develop policy, resist this government’s attacks on communities and build support for political change.

We can create a new kind of politics: kinder, more respectful, but courageous, too. We make things possible by campaigning for change. We can change minds, we can change politics, we can make things better.

The most important message my election offers to the millions who we need to vote Labour and turn the Tories out of office is that the party is now unequivocally on their side. We understand aspiration and we understand that it is only collectively that our aspirations can be realised.

Everybody aspires to an affordable home, a secure job, better living standards, reliable healthcare and a decent pension. My generation took those things for granted and so should future generations.

The Conservatives are introducing a trade union bill that will make it harder for workers to get a fair deal at work, to fight for fair pay and for a better work-life balance. Trade unions are a force for good – a force for a more equal society. United, Labour will vote against this anti-democratic attack on trade union members.

On Tuesday, the government will set out regulations to cut tax credits, leaving thousands of working families worse off. Tax credits are a vital lifeline to many families and Labour will oppose these cuts.

It is clear, too, that the prime minister will soon again be asking us to bomb Syria. That won’t help refugees, it will create more.

Isis is utterly abhorrent and President Assad’s regime has committed appalling crimes. But we must also oppose Saudi bombs falling on Yemen and the Bahraini dictatorship murdering its democracy movement, armed by us.

Our role is to campaign for peace and disarmament around the world.

For the Conservatives, the deficit is just an excuse to railroad through the same old Tory agenda: driving down wages, cutting taxes for the wealthiest, allowing house prices to spiral out of reach, selling off our national assets and attacking trade unions. You can’t cut your way to prosperity, you have to build it: investing in modern infrastructure, investing in people and their skills, harnessing innovative ideas and new ways of working to tackle climate change to protect our environment and our future.

Our job is to show that the economy and our society can be made to work for everyone. That means ensuring we stand up against injustice wherever we find it and we fight for a fairer and more democratic future that meets the needs of all.

The human response of ordinary people across Europe in the past few weeks has demonstrated the thirst for a different kind of politics and society. The values of compassion, social justice, solidarity and internationalism have been at the heart of the democratic eruption in Labour’s hugely expanded ranks.

Those values are embedded deeply in the culture of the British people. Our aim is now to take that spirit and hunger for change, that has won the support of the Labour party, to reach out to the whole of Britain