A speech made by David Miliband at Mile End Institute in 2022 to mark the 25th anniversary of Labour’s 1997 victory. It sets out the lessons from that period and its relevance for today’s Labour Party. He describes the four Ps: people, party, policy and project that were key to success. He says these are four concentric circles with the project in the middle.
Miliband, head of policy for Tony Blair at the time, describes the many reasons policy was important: It could ‘change perceptions, be a discipline, a rallying call to the country, de-risk a Labour vote, speak to our ambition, show we have learnt the lessons.’
Miliband said that a political project asks and answers five questions:
1.”Threat/Opportunity: what is the problem/challenge facing the country?
2. Villain: why does the problem exist?
3. Hope: what’s the way to fix it?
4. Protagonist: why are you the people to fix it?
5. Proof: how can we trust you?
Miliband concludes that in 1997 New Labour rejected both the obsolete and the utopian and forged a new politics.