TODAY we have an opportunity to rid the country of a Tory government that has brought our country to its knees.
 
I’ve given real thought as to whether I should write this piece at all. I know there will be real hostility from some readers to the Labour Party and advocating a vote for Labour will likely bring abuse from some quarters. But the truth is, today you must vote Labour.
 
I was first elected to Parliament in 2010, and that entire time has been spent in opposition. It has been spent opposing everything that the Conservatives in government have stood for.
 
I made a promise when I was first elected never to vote against the interests of my constituents and I’m proud to say that I never have.
 
I’ve never voted to cut welfare support, for cuts to public services, to raise the retirement age or curb the rights of trade unions and campaign groups. Regardless of the political makeup of the government, I will never vote against my constituents nor my class.
 
I served loyally as a member of Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet and as chair of the Labour Party. I will never accept that the manifestos we put in front of the people in 2017 or 2019 were pie in the sky, uncosted or unachievable.

What they did was offer hope. There was nobody as heartbroken as me when the results of 2019 came in but we should never forget that more than 10 million people voted Labour in that election.
 
I know many people, myself included, are disappointed by the rightward drift of the party, the hostility to the left and some of the deeply problematic statements made by Labour frontbenchers.
 
But those advocating for a break with the Labour Party suffer from the same misconceptions as those currently running the show. The Labour Party does not belong to any individual or to any group. The Labour Party remains the political wing of the labour and trade union movement — something worth fighting for.
 
While the press have dubbed it the “Ming vase strategy,” the Labour manifesto still has some vestiges of manifestos gone by.

The decision to review the mineworkers’ pension scheme split and to allow the trustees to distribute the reserve fund will have a huge impact on former mining communities. As will the decision to launch a review into the policing at Orgreave.
 
Removing the shackles from the trade union movement by introducing the new deal for working people is important. Bringing the trains back into public ownership, extending bus franchising and making the NHS work for working-class people is imperative.
 
I would go much further but we must rid ourselves of the Tory government, their chaos and corruption, and these policies are a good start.
 
The case has been well made that some around the leadership have been drunk with power in their war against the left within the party. The hangover however has already begun to set in and it is for us to provide the tonic to this.
 
Prior to the election, we saw the backlash faced by the party in their disastrous bid to stop Diane Abbott from standing. The anger within the party over the factionally driven selection process is palpable and should be addressed without delay.
 
With multiple crises awaiting us in government it is only the Labour and trade union left who can halt the rightward drift of British politics. We can best do that as critical friends rather than embattled enemies.
 
There are voices advocating votes for independents, Greens and others without disturbing a Labour government.
 
There are decent people running as candidates across the country — but people should not blindly vote against Labour to simply have the satisfaction of saying they did.

This is an opportunity to rid the country of the Tories perhaps for good and it is my view that the left should be part of this victory.
 
Over the past few weeks, myself and the local Labour team here in the north-east have spoken to thousands of people, the overwhelming feeling is that people are desperate for change.
 
But despite Labour’s message of change many people simply do not believe anything will. With Reform UK rising in the polls, there is a terrifying glimpse of what the future might look like if we fail to deliver playing out across the Channel.
 
Reform voters are perhaps the most desperate for change of all. As a party, they have set their goal on replacing the Conservatives and they are appealing to Tories red in tooth and claw.
 
But they are also finding support in parts of the community that would never vote Tory and who feel abandoned by everyone.

Labour must deliver for these people in government or else we risk ushering in far-right snake oil salesmen akin to Le Pen in France. It is the job of the Labour and trade union left to hold their feet to the fire. This has to be done inside the party.

Ian Lavery is the Labour candidate for the new constituency of Blyth and Ashington, and was Labour MP for Wansbeck prior to this election.