It has been an exciting time at Westminster with the departure of Tony Blair and the first days of the new Government under Gordon Brown and his deputy, Harriet Harman.

There are a few occasions which show the House of Commons at its best and Tony Blair’s final Prime Ministers Questions proved to be such a one. For those of us on the Labour side it was an emotional time. Whether or not we agreed with our Prime Minister of ten years on everything, there is no doubt he was our most successful leader yet, leading us to three successive election victories where before we struggled to get two in a row. On the international front he led the way on preventing genocide in Kosova and Sierre Leone, and set up the new Department for International Development which has pushed development issues, particularly in Africa, up the global agenda. On the world stage he has strongly promoted the need to tackle climate change. Unfortunately Iraq has cast a shadow over his legacy which history will judge in years to come.

On the domestic front massive injections of funds have been put into our public services, especially health and education. Unemployment is at an all time low and child and pensioner poverty has been greatly reduced. We now have universal nursery education as of right and the Working Families Tax Credit helps parents with childcare and makes work pay, along with the national minimum wage.

I wrote these words in his tribute book at the House of Commons:
‘I have a long memory and remember well bringing my children up in the Tory years – I am grateful that our Party had a strong leader whose success has ensured that, unlike her mother, my grand daughter is growing up under Labour. ‘

At the end of Prime Minister’s Questions almost the whole House gave Tony Blair a standing ovation in recognition of his contribution to our nation.  I am very proud that his successor is a Scot and someone of immense stature and experience. Things will be different in many ways with Gordon and I believe he will not only earn but deserve the trust of the British people in the years ahead.