What a fantastic result in Oldham – I am so pleased that Jim McMahon held the seat with an increased share of the vote, although he will be a loss to Labour in local government and on the National Executive Committee.

So much of what went into our manifesto here in Brighton and Hove was inspired by Jim and the tremendous work he has done in Oldham, from partnering bus companies with credit unions to deliver low-cost travel, to investing in accessible online services for residents, to the concept of devolving power and problem-solving down to neighbourhood level.

It is Labour in local government that led the way under the coalition, and it is Labour in local government that must lead the way now, in developing new ideas, new policies, new ways of meeting the political, social and economic challenges; the challenges of the second half of this decade. We must take the principles of municipal socialism, the strategies of town hall social democracy, and the innovation of co-operative councils up and down the country, and build something new.

Labour may not hold power in Westminster, but it holds power in city halls and town halls across the country, in most of the new and devolved city-regions, and even in this south-east sea of blue, Labour leads three councils here in Sussex: Hastings, Crawley and now Brighton and Hove.

Here in Brighton and Hove we had four years of a student-politics, leftwing, divided and fractious party running things. The electorate did not like it. They did not like being lectured to, criticised and told to scale down their ambitions because they did not fit with party beliefs.

The Greens could not look beyond their narrow ideological restrictions, they could not reach beyond their city centre, Guardianista electorate. Indeed, faced with incompetence in office they could not even hold them. Even as Caroline Lucas increased her majority, we won six seats from the Greens in her constituency alone, six more in Hove and Kemptown. They were routed, beaten from office into third place.

Labour offered better. It offered a united group, policies that both challenged poverty and promoted cooperation and aspiration. Skills, apprenticeships and jobs. Affordable homes for key workers. Partnerships between bus company and credit union to cut travel costs. Income from new developments and commercialised services. Growing the economy but working to ensure the benefits are shared by all.

In office we are building truly affordable homes, both as a council and in partnership with a housing association in a groundbreaking new initiative. We are putting our most valued cultural assets, including the Royal Pavilion that is our symbol, into a trust to preserve them for future generations.

Our Fairness Commission will bring a comprehensive focus to the work of the council, businesses, the community and voluntary sectors in targeting the spend we have remaining in the most effective way.

Our focus on mental health, on tackling homelessness, and delivering a portfolio of major projects across the city will in time reap rewards.

We have established an employment and skills task force to build pathways from education to employment, and are planning an apprenticeship training company to drive high-skills apprenticeships and training across the Greater Brighton Region. I am determined we unlock the potential of each and every young person in Brighton and Hove, regardless of their background or the start they have had in life. We owe it to them and the city not to waste that talent, that resource, that potential.

Last week I launched our City Innovation Challenge, asking residents, businesses and other organisations to use the imagination and talent they have in abundance in this city to help meet the challenges we face as our government funding reduces. We are reaching out to business and asking them to take civic responsibility. That is good for their community, good for the city and good for their business.

We can’t win by trying to restore the politics and the society of 40 years ago. The principle that won us three elections – one of applying traditional values in a modern setting and in forging an appeal that went beyond our traditional support – still remains as true today as it was in those hopeful days of 1997. The policies of 1997 do not – we need to forge a new broad church based on new hopes in a changing society, and wide-ranging aspirations that a majority can support.

That new prospectus must offer the chance for all to make a better life for all, not just those who fall within a certain class label or economic bracket. It must have an appeal that transcends old labels and looks beyond the language of the 20^th century to a world that has changed, that is changing and which will continue to change at an ever more rapid pace. That is true on an international and national stage as much as it is true in our city here in Brighton and Hove.

It has been a turbulent few months for the Labour party. Losing elections is bad, the prospect of never winning again is far worse. The space for a centre-left progressive party has never been so big, and it is a space that demands to be filled. I want it filled by Labour. It is the space this party has owned for 100 years, and we should not cede it to the left or the right now.

We need unity of purpose while we respect our differences. We need simple messages in a complex world. We need clarity of vision to a diverse electorate. We need to see that we don’t have time; time spent fighting among ourselves is time lost, our cause lost, at a terrible cost to those we seek to help, that we have a duty to help. They will be the ones who lose most.

It is a privilege accorded to me by the Labour party and by the voters of Brighton and Hove to lead the council. In some small way I hope to make a difference for the 280,000 people in this city while I hold this job, and what I do isn’t driven by the desire for re-election, but a desire to see real change.

But this city needs Labour; it needs both aspiration and a challenge to economic inequality. One in three children in my ward live in poverty, too many of them are denied their true potential, and despite our growing economy, too many are left behind. I cannot and will not allow division or ideology to stop me from making a difference for them. Hope for a progressive politics must mean hope for them and for all of us.

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Warren Morgan is leader of Brighton and Hove city council. He tweets @WarrenMorgan. These are his remarks from the Brighton and Hove leg of Progress’ Future of Labour’s Centre-left tour