Travelling around my North Tyneside constituency over the past couple of weeks the talk has been about whether Graeme Souness can work with Alan Shearer rather than the relative merits of Tony Blair, Michael Howard or Charles Kennedy.

But as the Labour Party conference gets underway in Brighton this is a good time to consider what Labour needs to be saying and doing if it is to reflect the needs and ambitions of people here in the north-east.

To survive in modern politics a political party has to be forward looking. Addressing the future and not dwelling on the past.

The old approach of a government simply standing for re-election based on its record in office has come and gone.

In many respects this is bad news for Tony Blair and his government. Since taking office in 1997 it has a proud record. The creation of nearly two million extra jobs; the introduction of the national minimum wage; the lowest mortgage rates for 40 years; 19,000 more doctors and 67,500 extra nurses; the lowest inflation for 20 years; and a record number of police officers.

But come the next election voters will have these benefits already in their back pocket and will ask a simple question: what will you do for me if re-elected?

So the challenge for Tony Blair and the Labour Party is to come forward with a new offer to the British people.

Some will argue for a safety first, steady as you go approach. I think this would be a mistake. Labour needs to show that it can renew itself in office.

This means putting forward a bold and ambitious programme which builds on the foundations laid during the first two terms in office and demonstrates that Labour is in touch with the issues that are the real priorities of the people it wishes to serve.

To do this successfully there must be no shying away from those difficult and controversial issues that cause genuine concern.

I know that much has been written and said about Iraq over the past eighteen months and understandably so. For some this will be the issue that determines their attitude to Tony Blair and how they will vote.

This said it is vital that Labour doesn’t lose sight of those other issues which the majority of the population indicate as being most important to themselves, their family and the community in which they live.

People want to see continued improvements in their schools and hospitals. Standards are beginning to improve but more needs to be done.

For the future well-being of our country we must maintain a strong and healthy economy.

Many feel that we still haven’t got the right approach to asylum and immigration. That our compassion is being exploited. So in my view we will need to do more to protect and secure our borders – in particular against illegal immigrants to our country.

Far too many people have their quality of life blighted by anti-social behaviour and nuisance neighbours. New laws have been introduced to tackle this yob culture. They must been fully implemented and we should reject out of hand the recent proposal from the Liberal Democrats to provide go-kart sessions for teenagers who are found guilty of joy riding in stolen cars. What sort of message does this send out?

Now is the time for Labour to have the courage of its convictions. To remain true to the historic ideals of the party: a belief in social justice, opportunity for all and a commitment to fairness and protection of the weak and vulnerable.

I hope that at Brighton this week we’ll see an agenda for action emerging which is based on these objectives.

Then we will be able to put a positive and popular programme before our country.

One which promises a better life for all our people.