Sheffield Hustings

Sunday 27th May 2007 saw the Leadership Hustings in Sheffield.

A car load of us went from Salford to see how it was going.
Held at Sheffield United Football Club there was a good turnout of around 300 (by my count!)

There was a question and answer session with Gordon Brown in which he displayed the qualities which I believe make him the right man for Britain's next Prime Minister - solid ability, commitment to social justice (both here and internationally) and an ability to generate trust and support amongst Labour supporters. His description of the effect of debt relief in places like Kenya, where education is now free and 1 million youngsters suddenly appear at school is very moving and reminds you of why we do what we do.

The platform for the Deputy hustings was a very crowded event. Candidates made a short speech and then answered questions from the floor. The questions were obviously genuine and the whole debate was intelligent. I genuinely think we're lucky to have such a good field of candidates.

At the minute its looking like it could be a very close result and its vital party members engage and involve themselves in this debate. When its over we then need to focus relentlessly on the opposition and winning the next General Election.