Hold your nerve, MP tells Labour

Maria Eagle insisted that, when it came to an election, voters would judge them on the bread-and-butter issues of the economy, schools and hospitals, rather than the string of controversies which have dominated headlines over the past few months, from the crisis at Northern Rock to the loss of child benefit data and proxy donations to Labour.

Following the Prime Minister's decision not to call an autumn election, Labour now had some time to focus on "the real issues" and show it can deliver on things which matter to ordinary people, said the Liverpool Garston MP.

She accused David Cameron's Conservatives of trying to focus attention on political "tittle-tattle" to mask their lack of credible policies on the main issues.

In an interview with political website ePolitix.com, published on Wednesday, justice minister Ms Eagle said: "A lot of the travails that are supposedly besetting the Labour Government are certainly not the things people raise with me when I am out and about in Liverpool. I haven't had a stream of angry people raising the sort of things you read in the papers.

"When it comes down to it people in this country, when they come to vote, are going to be thinking about economics, about who is going to make them better off, who will make sure they are still in a job and will make sure the schools and hospitals are good and at the moment there is only one answer to those questions and that is Labour.

"So this year we have to keep our nerve, have confidence that we can go on dealing with the real issues and the events that can hit any government and get on with the job and I think we can do that."

Labour has plenty of time to restore its position in the polls by getting on with the job of governing in a competent and effective way, said Ms Eagle.

"There is going to be some time between now and the next election and we have to make sure that we are focused on delivering our promises," she said.

"We also have to highlight the fact that when it comes down to it the Conservatives talk mainly about tittle-tattle, there is no policy. We have to carry on governing, meet the promises we have made and show we can do a good job."