And it has certainly demonstrated to the British people his quality leadership skills with his calm and capable handling of these major incidents.  It has blown out of the water the Tory claims that he wouldn’t be able to cope in a crisis.

What it has also shown up is the yawning chasm between a serious, statesmanlike Prime Minister who gives up his British seaside holiday to take the helm at a time of national disaster and a Tory PR wannabee who doesn’t quite get it. Volunteering in Rwanda is very laudable, but surely at a time when your own constituency is under water you should get your priorities right? 

The Westminster gossip is that unhappy backbench Tory MP’s have started texting each other the codeword PODWAS on their mobile phones – standing for “Poor Old Dave, What A Shame”

This is very bad news for the Tories, but it is actually very bad news for the country. The country deserves better from the Leader of the Opposition, but it just shows that the Tories really haven’t grasped that they have to change their party from the bottom up, not just put a fresh face at the top.  Gordon Brown has shown just in a few weeks that if you have the right policies and the right values deep down, then a new face at the top can truly invigorate a party.

I am looking forward to returning to Parliament in the new session to implement the new ideas that Gordon has brought forward. I am particularly pleased with the new emphasis on skills, with thousands of new  apprenticeships to be created. This is vital for somewhere like Portsmouth if we are to ensure our young people have good quality jobs for their future and the future of their families.