Dear Jeremy,

I want to thank you for the role model you have provided, during your time as leader of the Labour Party.

You have been reasoned, calm, kind and compassionate. In the face of an extraordinary barrage of attacks, from all quarters, you have stayed positive and strong, with a strength based in belief in what is good, and in our common humanity, rather than the brittle strength of anger and ego.

You have worked to bring people together, in the face of the ferocious divisiveness that seems to be sweeping the world.

You have shown what it is to be a grown-up in politics, recognising that, in the real world, life is complicated, that our problems don’t have a “quick-fix” solution, and that respect for those with whom we disagree is a virtue.

And all this has fortified us with hope. Hope that, that whilst the voices of anger and division are screaming more and more stridently, there are ways of acting based in decency and compassion, which have real moral power, and which, in the long term, can take us forward to a better world.

Thank you!