It has been said that England invented the phrase, 'Her Majesty's Opposition'.
I was shadow health secretary for six years, and the beauty of being in opposition - if there is any beauty - is that you tend to get a pretty unvarnished view because no one bothers to paint the coal white before you turn up.
As far as I'm aware, everybody in the shadow cabinet accepts that there's a compelling case on climate change and a strong scientific case.
His Majesty's Opposition
I cannot be clearer about this. I am not in politics, let alone Labour's shadow cabinet, to keep things as they are.
I have never commented on a caucus issue or a shadow Cabinet issue, and I'm not about to start now.
For the absolute avoidance of doubt, my leadership will be about unity, drawing on all the talents - with women representing half of the shadow cabinet - and working together at every level of the party.
If I am elected leader, my shadow opposition team will actively incorporate the policy contributions of all our members by instituting policy action committees as recommend by the 2010 National Review.
As shadow foreign secretary, I have been as clear in my support for the government when it does something we agree with as I am in highlighting that which we oppose.
I had the closest thing I have ever had to an out-of-body experience lying in bed one morning. I turned on the 'Today' programme and item four on the news was: 'The shadow chancellor has ruled himself out of the leadership.' I lay there thinking that's interesting, then I realised it was me.
