James Purnell - CC / Flickr

There seems to be considerable surprise today that James Purnell, former Work & Pensions secretary, is to stand down as a Member of Parliament at the general election. Purnell is 39 and has been an MP since 2001. Personally I’ve never really worked out what I think of Purnell – perhaps because I dislike the Blairite-Brownite frame for explaining the Labour Party and he is always mentioned in the same breath as one of the camps. As far I’m concerned, wherever you stand in Labour the party undoubtedly needs good and intelligent people and he is one of them.

But why all of the introspection about Purnell and others that may or may not be standing down? Because Labour actually has a good line-up of decent candidates that could be ready to fill Purnell’s shoes. For me foremost among those would be Liz Kendall, one of my web clients. Liz is Labour candidate in Leicester West. She’s 38, a year younger than Purnell, is equally sharp and communicative, and has plenty of interesting and relevant experience, having also previously worked as a SpAd to Patricia Hewitt.

There are other Labour candidates that could very well step up and fill Purnell’s shoes – Emma Reynolds or Chuka Umunna (another web client of mine) for example.

The British press are always ready to bemoan people who commit their entire lives to politics. Purnell is choosing to not do that for now, and there may well be a route back for him in the future. Labour is going to have a tough time over the next few months and years, and it’s vital that good and determined people play a role in the renewal of the party, and there are people that can fill Purnell’s shoes to do that.

Liz initially contacted me having seen sites I’ve developed for Rushanara Ali and Chuka Umunna and it was clear from the first phone call that she is a determined, sharp, committed and organised individual. An initial 40 minute meeting to discuss the site delivered more results than hours of client meetings normally accomplish.

Liz has had a clear idea of what she wants, but has also been ready to accept advice, and above all has taken a great personal interest in the development of her site, meaning the website really reflects her political priorities. All too often that’s not the case for politicians’ websites.

The site runs with WordPress, makes use of Google Maps, surveys, has a Paypal donation facility, and integrates Liz’s use of Twitter and Facebook.

In short I’m happy to have delivered a site for an excellent and professional candidate who will make an excellent MP for Leicester West and I’m looking forward to seeing the site develop between now and the election!