Originally posted @ 12:56 am, Sun 28th Sep 2008
The Labour Party conference ended with a presentation on the NHS and its 60th birthday. One of the speakers was Aneira Thomas, born one minute after midnight on the 5th of July, 1948. The nurses had encouraged her mother to hang on until the change of hour, and then when the baby arrived, prevailed upon her to call the baby Aneira. It was a sweet story and a pleasure to hear.
There is an awareness that the perception of the conference first hand differs remarkably from the way it is seen on TV and described elsewhere in the media.
Whilst there is a temptation to complain about bias - and when I happened across a table of regional paper journalists on a neighbouring table in a restaurant, I did wind them up - all involved know that a media that has to sum up hours of discussion and events will always look for a shortcut, and that such shortcuts can distort the purpose and aspirations of the party members.
So it is a pleasure to see that the response to the conference by the public (as shown in the first few polls) has been positive, and deservedly so.
We demonstrated a clear focus on the immediate challenges; we demonstrated a proper long term vision, based on our values, which we know many people share; and we had a lot of progress to celebrate.
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