A million gather for Alan Milburn’s ‘message of hope’

They came from all over Britain. Young and old, black and white, Christians, Jews and Muslims; arm in arm, united by Alan Milburn’s message of hope and New Labour renewal. Thousands gather

In the greatest political rally in living memory, around a million people crammed into the streets around Labour’s conference centre as the sound system relayed Milburn’s bold plans for the second half of Labour’s third term. In a speech that will go down in the annals with Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ or ‘JFK’s ‘Ask not what your country can do for you’, the leadership hopeful brought tears to the eyes of young idealists with his hopes for business/community partnerships.

‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’ wept twenty-two year old Hannah Campbell, who had travelled all the way from Cornwall to attend the mass rally in Manchester. ‘This is the vision that we felt with a passion but couldn’t put into words. Now at last we have a leader who shares our dreams. Regional business councils, voluntary groups working with the private sector, local councils empowering stakeholders in neighbour enterprise zones – I never dared hope that we might see all this in my lifetime.’

Hope for New Labour
Some political commentators had previously suggested that Alan Milburn might be something of a New Labour dullard, who was over-reaching himself in his thinly-disguised ambition to run for the Labour leadership. But even seasoned journalists found themselves dazzled by the glow of Milburn’s charisma as he outlined his twenty-seven point plan for mid-term renewal.

‘People’s consumer councils, community transport champions, maybe even internet business advice forums – it feels like a whole new society is now possible…’ said one lifelong activist. ‘I wish my father had been alive to hear this speech. Once in a generation comes a leader with vision, energy, optimism and charisma…’ enthused another tearful pensioner. ‘ And just imagine the dream ticket of Alan Milburn as Prime Minister with Peter Hain as deputy!? Bliss was it to be alive in that dawn.’

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