It was with some trepidation that I went along to a local party telephone session today. It was the first time since that demonstration when we had all fallen to talking about the Leadership Contest and we had been far from one on our take and our choice. Some of the talk, though little I am glad to say, had become quite barbed back then before the Conference. I really wasn't sure what to expect from this gathering of more or less the same activists today.
I am glad and a little proud to say that those differences in view and expression, which have not gone away, were handled with dignity and tact. There was neither crowing from the one side nor sniping from the other and sore points were studiously avoided. This will not I trust mean that debates on policy and approach will not still be intense over the next months, as there is still much to be decided other than the Leader, but for now there needs to be real maturity. Let it not be forgotten that there was a time when the differences between some members of the Labour party were so strong that for a time they split into two parties. That rift has been healed and we have no wish to see it reopened. This conference has seen examples of great dignity in the face of personal disappointment. I hope we can all learn from these as much as from the successes of the Contest itself.
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