Iain Anderson
:Banking Reform - Where Next?
European Parliament Web Team
:World Refugees Day: Giving a Better Reception to Those Fleeing Their Homes
Stephanie Allen
:Behind the Façade of the G8
Jeremy Cook
:The King Is Dead, Love Live the Carney
Boyan S. Benev
:Protesting with the Police on Your Side
In the internet age, we can often can read a speech, free from any 'embargo', before it's actually been given - as with one we'll be hearing from Ed Miliband later today (posted on Politics Home at 9.53 a.m. this morning).
Nobody will be in any doubt that change is necessary for our country.
Unemployment rising.
1 million young people out of work.
Living standards squeezed for all but a few at the top.
Irresponsibility still being rewarded in huge pay rises and bank bonuses.
And there are problems that go beyond one government.
Long hours.
Wages not going up.
Costs rising.
Strains on families.
Worries about the future.
An economy not working for working people.
I have changed where we stand.
Equality of sacrifice and fairness of reward matter.
To me.
To Labour.
To Britain.
For too many years, some of the most powerful in society thought no-one could stand up to them even if they were ripping people off.
Energy companies.
Train companies.
Banks.
Even media companies.
I have changed where we stand.
No company is too powerful to challenge.
Standing with people in tough times is what counts.
To me.
To Labour.
To Britain.
That we are the party for the tougher times not just the easier times.
I have changed where we stand.
Changing our economy with:
Better quality jobs.
A living wage.
Making sure that businesses can get the money they need to grow
This matters.
To me.
To Labour.
To Britain.
And I am proud to lead a party affiliated to three million working people through our link to the trade unions:
The nurses who look after the sick.
The teaching assistants who teach our kids.
The shopworkers, the engineers, the bus drivers.
But I know we can do more.
We do it by making promises we know we can keep.
Not image over substance.
Not fake change.
But by offering a different direction for the country
That is where I stand.
That is where Labour stands.
With you, on your side in these tough times.
That's what we're fighting for in these local elections.
Follow Max Atkinson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/maxatkinson
Back to earth.
As a priest, I find that I often use full stops in a text where, if it were designed for reading, I would have used commas, semicolons or colons. I only do it because I find that, when looking at the congregation as much as possible, and only glancing down at my text, it is easier not to get lost if phrases are separated by a full stop and double space. That said, I read it out with appropriate rhythm and phrasing, so that is sounds quite different from the way it appears on the page. I hope that makes some sort of sense.