Saturday 8 November 2008

We must learn how Obama mobilised support - Lammy

Change never comes about because people hand it to you but because impressive individuals emerge, said minister David Lammy as he launched the Fabians' America Votes conference.

While Lammy said he hadn't been able to be in the US for the election night, his wife had been there, and phoned him as the results came in. But the minister said there were lessons for British politics: "The central issue is about movement, it's the movement that Barack Obama has begun that is interesting."

"It's that movement that we must learn from, and the means now that technology has given to connect us up to that movement."

"Our task as a party is to harness that new multilateralism. To be that change agent on the issues of the global economy, climate change and security.
What we must now do is work out how to bring that new campaigning lessons home."

David Cameron also wants to be the change candidate. He is keen to associate himself very closely with Barack Obama, said Lammy. But while Obama told America that the campaign wasn't about him it was about "you", David Cameron seemed to want to say: "it isn't about you, it's about me".

Read the full David Lammy speech here.

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