When the British people voted for us, they voted for change and against a government that did not stand up for their interests. They were disillusioned by a system that is rigged against them, which they want us to transform. The Labour party is at its best when we are bold, when we stand for and stand by our values, and show we are delivering on them. We should make clear that our driving mission is to represent working people. When vested interests stand in the way, we should not shy away from a fight. We should take them on, head on.

We did it with the employment rights bill. For millions of workers, after decades of low pay and insecurity, we chose stronger rights and security. We did it with the Renters’ Rights Act. For the renters who lived in fear that they could lose their home in an instant, we chose to ban no-fault evictions and stop outrageous rent hikes.

And with a little bit of gentle prompting, we did the same with the draft leasehold and commonhold bill. For the leaseholders facing extortionate service charges and runaway ground rent rises, we chose to cap ground rents and crack down on rip-off charges.

But let’s be honest. To the public, we have left the impression that we defended the status quo rather than challenged it, and that we represented the establishment, not working people. At worst, we became it.

For a start, we should show the whole country that we’re proud of – not embarrassed by – Labour achievements that reflect our Labour values. That we are driven to do the right thing, not dragged to it. But that is nowhere near enough to show we can deliver the change we promised. We have to pick the next battles and fight them with everything we’ve got. Show people we can take on the rigged system and beat it.

The cost of living emergency is the issue of our time. It is a crisis not months, but years in the making. For more than two decades, living standards have been crushed. The ambitions of millions of working people have been shafted by a system that does not work for........

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