Lord Reid of Cardowan (Lab)

But I know that my noble friend Lady Smith is up to the task because, in my view, what Churchill said of military leadership also applies in politics: “Without the title deeds of positive achievement no one” has the power or the right to give clear leadership. I believe that my noble friend holds those title deeds, and not only through her service in this Chamber. I know that, as my Minister in Northern Ireland, she led and commandeered not one, not two, not three but four departments of state. So I warn my colleagues on the Front Bench: keep a tight grip on your portfolios. There are many of our former colleagues that all of us would have wished to see here today—particularly on these Benches, if I might say so, because of the new Labour Government. There are too many to mention in full but, personally, I will miss the late Baroness McDonagh. She was respected and loved by so many of us. It is a tragedy that she did not live to see the Labour Government that she did so much to achieve. There is now a huge responsibility on that Government, not just in implementing legislation in singular Acts that pass through this Chamber but in restoring faith in politics. As we cast an eye over our continent, we can all see the spectre of those three horsemen of extremism: economic instability; a contempt for the whole political class; and foreigners to blame. We do not need a crystal ball; we have all read the history books. These conditions have always been the harbingers of extremism. Even now, it is sweeping across Europe. For now, we have escaped it, but we may not always escape it. The next few years will determine that. It falls to us to plant the flag of democracy, including social democracy, firmly in the ground and to defend it. Above all, we need to persuade the British people to trust government and politicians a bit more through our integrity, our actions, our attitudes and our service. So as the lodestar for the coming years, we could not choose a better one than the final words of the final speech of the late John Smith, given the night before he died: “the opportunity to serve … that is all we ask”. Surely that should be sufficient for all of us. I beg to move.