As we reach a new era, let us remind ourselves that a party divided against itself cannot stand

As I watched the results come in on Election Day, I knew from quite early on that Labour was heading for a defeat. While the election resulted in a Hung Parliament, there is no doubt that Labour lost. Given the poor performance of the Liberal Democrats, it was also clear that the numbers didn't add up for a Labour-Liberal alliance; and that sooner or later, David Cameron would take over from Gordon Brown as Prime Minister.

Of course, I would have preferred if Gordon remained Prime Minister. I believe that he was instrumental in saving the world, yes, world, economy from a much deeper recession, or even depression. His actions have been recognised by many foreign governments, but alas, our own electorate did not do so. I am happy that Gordon has decided to remain a backbencher for the time being, but nevertheless the future of our party now remains uncertain.

As Gordon made his resignation speech, the media was reporting that the era of New Labour was over. In my opinion New Labour never existed. For many Labour grassroots supporters in the last thirteen years we were still the Labour Party. This is to take nothing away from the achievements of the Labour governments from 1997 to 2010. During that time we have introduced the minimum wage, brokered peace in Northern Ireland, seen NHS waiting times cut dramatically, and the Labour Party can be pleased with what we achieved under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

This leadership election is the first since 1994, a political generation ago. The leadership candidates call for a much-needed renewal of the Labour Party. Renewal of our party does not mean prefixing it with another tag. Despite being a supporter of David Miliband, I do not take to his tag of 'Next Labour'; enough is enough, we always have been the Labour Party, and we always will be the Labour Party. Renewal means engaging with each and every member of our party, renewal means a realignment of our party so we once again reflect the People's interests. Renewal means forgetting about our differences and instead focusing on what unites us.

Finally, our leadership election needs to be a wide and far-ranging debate. Not only are there good cideas from the centre of the party, there are also good ideas from the left and right. Whichever direction our party takes, the new leader needs to keep our party united by taking good ideas from each part of the party. We need to keep ourselves away from the civil wars we had in the 1980s while thatcher and co. were destroying th ecountry. As the great American Abraham Lincoln said before the steps of the Capitol in Springfield, Illinois, "A house divided against itself cannot stand" - likewise a party divided against itself cannot stand, never mind win elections.

Fired up and ready to go!

As with all Labour Party events, notice is very short. I was notified about an event at around 5:00pm in the evening, within twelve hours I was setting out to the station in order to get to Labour Party campaign HQ in Victoria.

Having arrived promptly at campaign HQ at 9:30, we had brief respite until setting out on leafleting in Charing Cross station. By chance, just as we passed Downing Street, the Prime Minister had just got out and was on his way to the Palace at 10:00 to meet with the Queen at and dissolve Parliament.

At 10:30 we returned back to HQ and then took the tube to St Pancras station though had no idea what we were to do there. We waited and waited, for more than half an hour. Then rumours quickly started spreading that the Prime Minister was going to be going through and catch a train to Kent. Within minutes, the cameras were rolling, I, and many other Labour activists had managed to shake the Prime Minister's hand as he went past, which was terribly exciting for someone who had never seen a Labour MP in the flesh until last Friday.

Afterwards we returned to campaign HQ to hear a speech. Mr Alexander is the director of Labour's campaign, and spoke about Labour's pledges to secure our economic recovery, to establish a fairer society, and to continue investing in public services. Each and every time Labour had made the right decisions on the economy, and though we are the underdogs in this race and the Tories have Ashcroft's money, Labour have the greatest number of youth members of the other political parties - and David Cameron had lost 40,000 members during his tenure as leader. He concluded by urging Labour party members to engage with undecided voters, to listen to their specific concerns, and then to talk about how Labour would be the best choice.

Douglas Alexander was followed by Harriet Harman, who made a brief speech concentrating on a number of "F" words:

Future - How Labour want to transform Britain into a digital economy, and reform Parliament.
Fairness - How Labour would create a fairer society with greater social equality.
Fear - of a repeat of the 1980s under Thatcher.
Footsoldiers - The Tories might have Ashcroft's money, but Labour would directly engage with voters on the doorstep
Families - Child Tax Credits, Sure Start, Maternity and Paternity Leave, and much more.
Fighting - Even though we are the underdogs in this race, if we keep at the top of the game we can succeed.

Finally, the day was finished off with some leafleting on behalf of Transport Minister Sadiq Khan MP in his constituency in Tooting. This is a crucial seat that the Tories need to win to win an overall majority in Parliament. While I returned home exhausted after an eventful day, I knew that mentally I was fired up and ready to go for the election on May 6.