However, he is a good communicator and he is willing to sit back and take advantage of our failings. His lead in the polls is commanding, but it's still soft. People could come back to Labour if we give them a reason to do so.

It's the vision thing. Labour needs to show the country that we're not just focused on the next day's headlines: we need to be the purveyors of a vision of Britain in ten years time. There have already been glimpses of this. James Purnell's recently published green paper on welfare reform really does seek to tackle a long unaddressed problem in a compassionate manner. But where is the vision elsewhere in government?

We have large nettles to grasp on energy, pensions, social care, the cost of public sector services and the public perception of crime. If we look at an even broader perspective, we need to escalate social mobility and halt the decline of public engagement in politics.

And all these issues can be taken on simultaneously. None of these problems is unsolvable. With the right people, we could have plans ready in three months or so. We could decide that no more children will grow up in ghettos; we could invest in intelligence based policing; we could plan for an international renewable power grid; we could propose an electoral system where people's votes actually count.

Our withering democracy really is part of the problem. It is said that in Glasgow East, Labour hadn't canvassed voters for years, taking this safe seat for granted. This is what parties do in safe seats. Only exceptional MPs prioritise campaigning in safe seats because there are so many other things to do. We have a system that forces parties to focus their efforts on 50-100 seats, We have a system that tells people there's no point in voting if you don't live in one of those seats, a system that contributes to young people feeling they have no influence over the society to which they are subject.

It isn't just public democracy and engagement that is suffering. We need to get our own house in order inside the Labour Party. Our structures divorce members from the running of the party and from practically influencing policy; and the half-hearted attempts to use the internet to engage with members or the public are mostly risible.

We need to get back to our basic principles. We are the party of the people. We are the party that seeks to end poverty. Our message is inspirational, so let's stop messing around and get on with it.

Alex Hilton
alexhilton@gmail.com
07985 384 859