Crannóggy Island

  Thank you. Walking up this street two years ago was the proudest moment of my life. A new Labour government. The first in fourteen years. The chance to change this country for the better. That's what I came into politics for. Six years ago I inherited a party that was politically, financially, and morally bankrupt. I was told a majority was impossible. We proved them wrong. Unfortunately, having dragged the party back from the political graveyard, I discovered some colleagues had mistaken the victory party for the starting gun of the next leadership contest. Look at what we delivered. A stronger economy. Falling waiting lists. Rising wages. Every difficult decision was opposed by people who now explain, with remarkable confidence, that it was their idea all along. But I know the question being asked isn't who won the landslide. It's whether I'm the right person to lead us into the next one. Apparently the answer is no. I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party...

The Wilderness Consultation In the second year after the exodus from Egypt, the Tent of Meeting stood at the centre of the camp of Israel. God spoke to Moses from within the tent. Moses carried what he received to the people. The arrangement was straightforward, if demanding. The Committee for Ongoing Discernment on Covenant Standards had established itself nearby. It had not been asked for. It had, nonetheless, arrived. Moses had been going in and out of the tent all morning. "He's been in there a long time," said the younger committee member, who was responsible for stakeholder engagement. "God is speaking to him," said the secretary. "Yes, but the Amorite delegation have been waiting since the third hour, and they've come a considerable distance." Moses emerged from the tent. He was carrying a scroll and wearing the expression of a man who had not slept well since Egypt. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," he said....