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In the wake of a disappointing local election showing for Labour, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions James Purnell recognised it had been "a grim weekend" in a speech to the Fabian Society, but declared that "ideological confidence is the way out of this week's political setback."
"This is not a tired government. It is a government that has a real energy, because it is confident that its answers are the right ones to the questions the public are asking."
"It's time to dust ourselves off and get up off the floor," he said.
Purnell took on the harbingers of electoral doom, who have likened the political situation to the Conservatives disastrous showing in 1995, saying that although "voters are spooked by the economy, they do not blame the government - they realise it has global routes."
But Labour cannot afford to coast on a promise of stability and a reliance on its record. In order to guide people through difficult economic times, the government needs to build an "Open Society" built on the idea of a "fair chance" he said.
"My argument today is that the goal is simple: to create an Open Society, the kind of society that is best placed to take the opportunities of globalisation."
"An Open Society, most of all, for everyone in Britain - giving them the chance to climb as far as their ambition takes them. But with that ladder rooted on the solid ground of a fair chance for all."
"That is why child poverty matters, and that is how we can make the best case for it."
The child poverty target, said Purnell, gives Labour a purpose that "links Old and New Labour. The outrage we feel at the waste of lives lived in poverty is what links the Labour Party of 2008 with the Labour Party of 1908."
"In our frenetic and cynical age, when it is routine to say that politicians care only about survival, it is worth pointing out someone with a defining message based on belief rather than political calculation," he said.
"There aren't many votes in child poverty. But that doesn't matter one bit. The child poverty target is a question of belief. Of justice. Of what is right."
He celebrated that Labour have won the argument over relative poverty, forcing the Tories to "have to say they agree that poverty is defined relative to the rest of society, or be out of step with the mood of the times."
But the Tories have to express something more than an "aspiration" to end child poverty, and until they come forward with firm proposals, they cannot be taken seriously.
"Nice isn't good enough. Until they pass the test of hardening their commitment and costing their policy, they cannot claim to be committed to ending child poverty. Lip service is not the same as commitment."
But Purnell recognised that simply reaffirming Labour's commitment and undermining the Tories "aspiration" is not enough, and so he set out some of the all important mechanisms for the government to "redouble our efforts" and build on the 600,000 children already lifted out of poverty since 1997, as "willing the end is only the first step. Much harder is the second part - willing the means."
"We need to do more through the tax and benefit system. We need to do more to tackle the poverty penalty. And we need to give people the chance to get on."
He championed the importance and success of tax credits and rubbished Tory claims that they do not matter and merely "disguise" poverty. "I don't know about you," he said, "but I think giving people more money is a hell of a way to disguise poverty."
He quoted Save the Children research that showed there is a "poverty penalty" whereby "it costs more to be poor." Therefore his priority is to help low earners with the cost of living. He said "I would like nothing more than to put the loan shark out of business" by bringing down the cost of credit.
"We already do a lot to help. But loans are not currently available to those who have moved into work. This can be the start of transforming our approach so that we extend affordable lending to everyone, to offer low cost loans to those who work as well as those who don't."
Whilst getting people into work remains the government's focus as the best route out of poverty, Purnell put a new emphasis on "making work stick as well as making work pay."
"The centrepiece of our policy on child poverty must continue to be work. And getting a job in itself is not enough."
"Once people are in work they need to stay there. And they need to progress."
To this end, he announced the extension of the "in work credit"; a Jobcentre Plus advisor to stay on hand during the first six months of employment; and an in-work discretionary fund to "provide for a payment of up to £300 in order to avert what could otherwise derail a career before it has even started."
He finished by recognising the magnitude of the task of ending child poverty and saying more needs to be done across the board.
"I've set out some of our ideas today. But that is just the start. This must be the biggest anti-poverty experiment ever conducted."
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Full text of speech
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