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Make no bones about it, this is going to be a difficult election for Labour .

We are behind in the polls and we face a ruthless Prime Minster prepared to break any promise or damage any community to tighten her grip on power.

We’ve also been divided ourselves, of course, as Jeremy Corbyn and I know better than anyone.

But if that experience and the grave challenge we now face tells me one thing, it is this: Now is the moment for us to unite, to stand together and to fight our true enemy, this hard-right Tory Party.

Because whatever disagreements I have had with Jeremy Corbyn about the future of the Labour Party and our path back to power, they are nothing compared to the chasm that exists between my traditional Labour values and Theresa May’s vision for a permanently Tory Britain.

(Image: PA)

Yes, Mrs May lied about not holding an early election and, yes, she’s taking her eye off the Brexit ball when the country needs her fully focused on it.

But there’s no point in complaining about that now.

Instead, the task for us all is to come together and cut through Mrs May’s rhetoric about unity and stability and shine a light on the real Tory record of the last seven years.

(Image: PA)

It’s a record of doubling the national debt, cutting school funding and social care for the elderly. It’s a story of broken promises, rising prices, low paid work and a crisis in our NHS.

Mirror readers know that’s the truth. You know your living standards have stood still or declined under the Tories and you know our public services are at breaking point.

You also know we need a strong Labour opposition to hold the Tories to account and to stand up for you.

Now is the moment for everyone in Labour to show we can do that.