People's National Party President Portia Simpson Miller arrives at the party's National Executive Committee Meeting at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, July 27. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer

The following is an excerpt of the presentation delivered to the National Executive Council of the People's National Party (PNP) by incumbent president, Portia Simpson Miller on Sunday, July 27.

The outcome of the 2007 General Elections was a major blow to the PNP and its supporters. Now, it is time for soul-searching. It is a time to return to the drawing board. It is a time to reassure each other and to remind ourselves that we are a resilient movement that has transformed the Jamaican landscape through our 70 years, and we remain the most relevant for the future.

As we prepare the ground and revive our organisational machinery, we must renew and refine our policies in order to remain relevant. Jamaica is in crisis. It is the PNP that has always answered the call. The PNP has always been the conscience of the nation. We are the party of ideas.

Just like Norman Manley in 1955 "the Man with the plan". Just like Michael Manley in the 1970s with democratic socialism and the 1980s with the Compass. Just like P.J. Patterson with the 21st Century Mission in the 1990s, I am ready to lead that renaissance as we chart the course for the next generation of policies, of ideas that will once again transform the Jamaican landscape and advance us on the road to social equality and economic prosperity.

As we apply our intellectual energy to the development of this next generation of ideas, one thing that is not negotiable is our unwavering commitment to the core tenets of democratic socialism. We must ensure the protection of the philosophy, vision and objective of our founding mothers and fathers. The present realities demand change - demand cutting-edge ideas - but the core values are sacred and must remain as our moral compass.

A MULTI-CLASS PARTY

We must never forget that the PNP was founded on the basis of a coalition of classes. Norman Manley did not seek to align himself to the upper-class, but rather he sought to build a multi-class party of the workers, the peasants, the farmer, the merchant, the social worker and all stakeholders in the Jamaican society. I am proud that I stand here today as a proud beneficiary of that legacy.

The context within which I speak is as the first woman leader of a party that committed itself from its foundation to, as Norman Manley said, "unswervingly serve the masses of the people".

We should therefore not be surprised that I stand here before you as a woman and as leader - as a natural manifestation of our very reason for being, as a party, dedicated and committed to the upliftment of the masses of our country!

Say whatever you want but, one can never question my commitment and loyalty to the Jamaican people. I have always been in the struggle and will always be in the struggle to ensure the upliftment of the Jamaican people. I am not perfect. Every human being is a work in progress and so am I. But I cannot be found wanting in terms of hard work and effectiveness.

We do not do justice to Norman Manley's legacy by simply mouthing the right words but by living the principles. Comrades, our words must be consistent with our actions!

I ask each and every one of you in this our 70th year to join me in really and truly living the principles on which the People's National Party was founded. If we do so, no force can beat us.

TRUE TO IDEALS

There is overwhelming evidence that the PNP has been unwavering in its commitment to the underprivileged and dispossessed masses of the people of Jamaica. As we celebrate our 70th anniversary and chart a course into the future, let us reflect on some of that evidence.

I begin with a quotation that has become increasingly well known 70 years after Norman Manley said it at the launching of the party at Ward Theatre in 1938:

"It is called the people's party because it will unswervingly aim at all those measures which will serve the masses of the country ..."

The achievements of the masses of this country have been inextricably linked with that of the PNP. Our first achievement as a political movement was the attainment of Universal Adult Suffrage - the democratisation of the right to vote. Getting the right to vote was a landmark achievement, which allowed the masses of this country to participate. Many people forget this accomplishment!

The PNP also led the democratisation of education with the introduction of the Common Entrance Examination. Many of us in this room today are beneficiaries of that legacy!

The creation of the Jamaica Welfare - now SDC - led to the transformation of the fortunes of disempowered rural Jamaicans as we sought to build community.

We are the architects of the nation. The Central Planning Unit - now the Planning Institute of Jamaica - is our legacy. The Bank of Jamaica is our legacy. The NHT is our legacy.

We led the fight for internal self-government and independence. Our commitment to regionalism did not start yesterday. Starting with our commitment to the West Indies Federation - we realised then, and remain convinced now that our destiny is intertwined with that of our Caribbean brothers and sisters because we have a common struggle.

SOCIAL REVOLUTION

Our second president, Michael 'Joshua' Manley led the social revolution that gave the ordinary Jamaican a sense of identity for the first time at last. A sense that he or she had a stake in this land!

Social legislation like 'maternity leave with pay' and 'equal pay for women' gave recognition to the pride of place held by women in our long struggle. From Nanny of the Maroons to Mary Seacole to Aggie Bernard, women have inextricably been linked with every significant accomplishment in our effort to build a just society. It was during the seventies that Nanny was recognised as a National Heroine. This was when I became the first female vice-president of the party.

Free education and free health care continued the revolution in access to social services that started a generation earlier. It reaffirmed our belief that education is a right, and not a privilege.

After we were returned to government in 1989, Comrade Michael Manley initiated the liberalisation of the Jamaican economy. There was a wave of privatisations and tremendous hardships with inflation as high as 80 per cent. I can still remember the many debates in the party - among the officers, in the executive, in the NEC. Compared to the 1970s, it was indeed a great transformation but the reality is that the times had changed.

MODERNISING ECONOMY

The Cold War had ended. The West had prevailed. And, globalisation was widely recognised as the predominant force in shaping economies and societies. We had to modernise our economy.

Comrade Manley handed over the reins to Comrade P.J. Patterson - the first prime minister of full African ancestry to be elected by the Jamaican people. He became president while the PNP was trailing in the polls and by 1993, he led the PNP to victory by the widest margin in its history. In more ways than one, Comrade Patterson paved the way for me - our party was continuing to evolve in terms of its leadership.

Comrade Patterson continued to remain true to our core beliefs. As articulated in our 21st century mission, which he commissioned, that period was a new paradigm in Jamaican and world politics. It necessitated a focus on the economic infrastructure of the country.

The foundations were laid for the transformation of the Jamaican economy. The less-privileged Jamaicans finally had a chance to taste the fruits of economic prosperity - it was no longer only the remit of the privileged.

Comrade Patterson handed the baton to me. I kept the same team in place because that was our A-team. I did that because I believe in party unity and country first, and personalities after.

In my short stint, we introduced free health care for children up to age 18. We increased the minimum wage. We continued to build on the many programmes started by Comrade Patterson. We continued with vigour our non-aligned foreign policy and began to address our trade agenda. We made Jamaica proud wherever we went. It is nothing short of an affirmation of the correctness of these policies, to see the current administration building on PNP policy after policy.

NEW PARADIGM

But the truth is Comrades, we are now facing a new paradigm. The nature of the global political landscape has changed. We have a new challenge to overcome.

The challenge facing the PNP in articulating the next wave of policies is not isolated to Jamaica - it is the same problem experienced by the Democrats in the USA in 2000, Swedish Social Democrats in 2006 and currently being experienced by the British Labour Party - all Democratic Socialist/Social Democrats/Centre-Left political parties.

After the end of the Cold War in 1989, and the advent of globalisation as the dominant economic force, left-leaning political parties had to abandon protectionist and adjust state welfare policies to name a few. These parties moved to 'just left of centre' and some to the centre, in order to govern.

An example is Bill Clinton's 'Triangulation strategy' in 1992.

In the UK, Tony Blair did the same under the banner of 'New Labour'. Now, the Conservatives under David Cameron have labelled themselves 'Liberal Conservative'.

Is Jamaica's story any different? The PNP went closer to the middle of the political spectrum for the similar reasons - it was started by Michael Manley when he started liberalisation and privatisation. We created history by winning four consecutive terms in office while transforming the Jamaican economy, reducing poverty, investing in infrastructure and laying the foundation for prosperity.

The JLP's response was, as happened elsewhere, to move from the far right to closer to the middle of the political spectrum with policies such as free tuition and health care. They are now embracing traditional PNP policies.

Comrades, the challenge facing the PNP, and democratic socialist political parties globally, is to determine the next wave of policies for progressive politics. How do we differentiate ourselves?

We must all take responsibility for the policy choices of the 1990s. We were all a part of the leadership. The shift to the political middle, started by Comrade Manley, was the necessary response to the challenges of globalisation.

Today's challenges are far greater than we imagined in the mid-1990s, including the geo-politics of energy, climate change, nuclear proliferation, problems of education and health, cultural and religious conflicts about notions of the good society, new and unprecedented levels of economic inequalities, and the individualisation of values alongside growing interdependence.

Confronted with the possibility of rapidly declining support, social democracy now needs a new round of progressive political thinking. This must take into account the new social realities, while facing up to the challenges in the global age. What is needed is a new narrative, a new conversation and a new approach on how to organise and implement fairness and progress in the 21st century.

Comrades, in my mind, this new round of progressive politics must be fundamentally different. We must focus also on effectiveness of those policies.

What do I mean by this? Even though we, as successive governments, have by and large practised progressive politics over the years - the results are that we have widening inequality; the results are that we still have a significant segment of our Jamaican society living in poverty, with little hope for the future.

QUALITY AND ACCESS

Comrades, let us use education as an example. The People's National Party supports free education, but we cannot sacrifice quality for access - we must have both. We cannot have children going to school and graduating with no qualifications - the effect of that is to perpetuate inequality. We believe that education can be of high quality and still be free.

I use that example to indicate a point of cleavage. Most political parties say that they are about equality of opportunity. The People's National Party is not only about equality of opportunity - we must concern ourselves with the equality of outcomes. In this context, outcome means the ability to maximise one's potential in whatever field or undertaking. Yes, there is personal responsibility, but the State has a responsibility to remove systemic impediments to progress.

The boy or girl from Trench Town, Flankers or Mocho must have the same access to opportunity as the boy from Jacks Hill but equally important - the boy or girl from the less-privileged background must have systems and programmes in place to promote equality of outcome because some of us are disadvantaged because of circumstance and may not be able to fully capitalise on the opportunity.

The key point is that our new wave of progressive policies must be preoccupied with equality of outcome - not just equality of opportunity - if we are to seriously address the persisting levels of inequality in the Jamaican society.

Comrades, I understand the challenges and I am ready to lead us through that period of uncertainty. But it is one we must confront urgently as we prepare ourselves to govern once again.

At the next NEC after annual conference, I will be outlining the scope and membership of a commission that will be mandated to develop our strategy to respond to this progressive challenge. It is to develop the platform for a new set of policies that will form the progressive strategy for the next PNP term in government.

BIG IDEAS AND HARDSHIPS

Comrades, I know that we must continue to discuss big ideas. It is the nature of our party. But we have to find a way while discussing big ideas to address the suffering of the Jamaican people. I am always ready to discuss big ideas, but the Jamaican people are experiencing more suffering than they have experienced in over 20 years. We must not be distracted from focusing on the hardships being experienced by the masses of our people that Norman Manley spoke about passionately, at the launch of the party 70 years ago.

I understand that there is a link between the big ideas and the 'everyday' issues.

It is our role as leaders to balance both. In fact, the 'big ideas' of the moment will be the solutions to the severe hardships now being experienced by the people - driven by the frightening increases in food prices, in energy prices. I don't have to tell you about it! We are all feeling it.

God Bless You, Comrades!