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.
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.
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.
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.
