Reid stakes claim for Labour leadership

John Reid

BRITAIN - Home Secretary John Reid established himself as the main rival to Chancellor Gordon Brown in the battle to succeed Prime Minister Tony Blair with a spirited and wide-ranging speech to the Labour Party conference.

The odds on Reid beating Brown for the leadership nearly halved yesterday after he staked his claim to the top job.

Blair was the first to rise to a standing ovation, fuelling speculation at the Manchester conference that the Blairites are looking to Reid as a challenger to Brown, who was absent for the speech.

Reid is understood to have a leadership team in place and is expected to argue he is more likely to connect with the voters of "middle England".

Following his well-received speech, Reid's odds were cut by bookmakers William Hill from 12/1 outsider to 7/1 second favourite. The bookmakers still make Brown clear favourite at 1/4 and also offer 8/1 on Alan Johnson and 12/1 on David Miliband, who has said he would not run.

Reid's speech strayed well beyond his home affairs brief and was universally interpreted at the conference as setting down a marker for the top job.

He repeatedly referred to "leadership" and pledged to play his "full part" in future Labour victories.

He said: "Leadership isn't a zero sum game. When one of us shines it doesn't diminish the others, it reflects on all of us."

Reid won applause as he declared there should be no "no-go areas" for ministers as they confronted extremism and pledged fresh action to tighten border controls, combat terrorism and force offenders to "pay back" their communities for the damage they have caused them.

He criticised anti-Americanism in the party as he declared: "You don't have to love everything George W. Bush stands for in order to hate everything that Osama bin Laden stands for."

Reid singled out the National Health Service and comprehensive education as two of Labour's finest achievements, arguing they demonstrated the difference between his party and the Tories' "rampant individualism".

Some Cabinet ministers, however, cautioned against Reid sprinting forward in the race. "A lot can happen in the coming weeks," said one.

- INDEPENDENT