Britain: New labour Leader Ed Milibands optimistc speech : "ready to lead a new generation"

"Freedom and opportunity are precious gifts and the purpose of our politics is to expand them, for all our people. That faith is not something I chose. It's not something I learned from books, even from my Dad's books. It was something I was born into."

"I come from a generation that suffered school lessons in porta-cabins and crumbling hospitals. I tell you one thing, for the eighteen years they were in power the Tories did nothing to fix the roof when the sun was shining. Our legacy is a generation for whom newly built schools and modernised hospitals are an everyday fact of life. I am proud of the fact that because of what we did, yes we did save the National Health Service in this country."


"You saw the worst financial crisis in a generation, and I understand your anger that Labour hadn't changed the old ways in the City which said deregulation was the answer."


"This generation wants to change our economy so that it works better for working people and doesn't just serve the needs of the few at the top. This generation wants to change our society so that it values community and family, not just work, because we understand there is more to life than the bottom line. This generation wants to change the way government works because it understands the power of the state to change lives but also how frustrating it can be if not reformed."

"This generation wants to change our foreign policy so that it's always based on values, not just alliances."

Note EU-Digest: an excellent optimistic speech  by Ed Mileband which can serve as an example for every moderate European politician to take in combating the rising wave of nationalistic right-wing doomsday rhetoric.

For the complete speech click on this link : Labour conference: Ed Miliband speech in full | Politics | guardian.co.uk