OVER the last couple of weeks, we have seen the party conferences of the Labour and Conservative parties. And what a difference they were.

At the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool we presented as a Government in waiting with a vision for Britain.

At the heart of our conference was the message of rebuilding Britain to make it work in the interests of the many, uniting our communities and ensuring that our national prosperity benefits every region and every town across the country.

Rebuilding Britain starts with our economy.

For too long it has functioned using the trickle-down approach of investing in our big businesses and into our cities, focusing wealth with the few and hoping it benefits the many.

This is a failed system which has left areas such as ours without the resources, investment or prosperity that we deserve.

Labour is therefore committed to a fundamental rebalancing of our economy to benefit the many.

This starts with regional investment banks which sit in our community to make those key investment decisions for our region.

For too long Whitehall have held the purse strings, now it’s time to give those powers and decisions back to the people who they impact most.

This restructuring and local investment will also prioritise the return of jobs and opportunities back to towns such as ours.

These jobs won’t be the insecure employment offered from the Conservatives where zero-hours contracts are commonplace and employees often feel undervalued.

Instead, we have announced our proposals of a genuine living wage of £10 per hour, the banning of zero-hours contracts and also the handing of shares to employees, giving them a stake in their work.

Our communities, left hollowed from austerity, also need urgent intervention.

At conference we therefore announced our five-point plan for our high streets, our home ownership plan to build a million new homes, 100,000 of which are genuinely affordable, and we also realise how urgently we must address our crime crisis and have therefore committed to 10,000 extra police officers.

This is a genuine vision for Britain to get it working for the many.

Towns like ours have been neglected for too long but Labour’s plan will fundamentally transform Britain starting with these towns which have been held back.

Contrast this vision with the Conservative Conference last week.

We have seen a party so fraught with infighting they don’t deserve to govern our country.

This leaderless, visionless government offer nothing to communities such as ours- they are so consumed by themselves and their self-made Brexit chaos- we have been left neglected, not even an afterthought.

The chaos has been so extreme that on the first day of their conference their app managed to leak the contact details of Cabinet Ministers, there have been stories of squabbles in the corridors and images of empty conference halls.

Just as we need a Government with leadership and determination we have been left with a party clinging to power, unable to govern.

The desperation for good news reached such heights that they even started to steal Labour policies- my message to the Prime Minister is simple: if you like our policies and share my belief that they will work for Britain, then move aside and let us implement them.

While the Government is obsessed with Brexit, Labour has a clear, credible and sensible plan and a vision for our country to rebuild Britain, rebalance our economy and restructure our society- now we need the Labour Government to deliver it.