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I was very happy being a secretary. I loved working for the government. I was very happy with my life.
One of those promises was to limit the size of government and to have the government serve the people – and not the other way around.
In Scotland, the indication is that for the Westminster elections at least, Labour voters are satisfied with their government.
I promised to empower the taxpayer – instead of a handful of big government union bosses.
The choice between a Labour government and a Tory one is sharpening minds.
For wide swaths of training and education there are valuable spillovers which mean that the private sector needs support from the government. That is why I have been so determined to protect and grow apprenticeships and put higher education on a sustainable footing.
I believe that smaller government is better government. But I also believe that in the areas where government does play a legitimate role, we should demand that it is done better.
We are the ones looking out for the middle class. Who do think pays for the endless expansion of government? Its middle class taxpayers. Our reforms protect middle class taxpayers.
As the economy faces such difficulties, more tough questions need to be asked about what the Tories would do if elected. Their ideology of free markets and small government needs challenging. That has to be part of our job.
It’s become unfashionable to celebrate political achievement, and Labour achievement even less so. And it’s positively uncouth to be proud of something that this Labour government is doing. So, slam me for saying so, but I’m really proud of the NHS.