i am not sure whether I am getting carried away with this Indian Summer we are enjoying here in Dundee but it seems to me that a sense of optimism is breaking out in the Labour Party.
I don’t need to rehearse all of the reasons we should be down the election result and two leadership contests in the last few months demonstrate the turbulent summer we have just put behind us.
But our conference in Brighton which has been leading the news all week might just herald a new dawn and hopefully a new politics.
For a start, we have thousands and thousands of new members all over the country who have been attracted to Labour’s message of a fairer society and a kinder politics.
I have been welcoming lots of our new members across Dundee this week and I am amazed by the range of people who have joined our movement young and old, former members and first-time campaigners, students and professionals. It’s refreshing to hear their views on the world and why they want to get involved in politics.
And the message from Brighton that we can do politics differently I hope will have resonance all over Scotland.
Our new leader, Jeremy Corbyn, was in Scotland yesterday and he is certainly doing things differently.
His deep convictions and strong beliefs have an appeal to many people tired of the same old polished politicians.
I certainly admire his strength under the attacks he has received from the Tories and the SNP and its clear he won’t be put off by the right-wing media who he seems to terrify.
Maybe no bad thing.
I really hope his open and honest style means people have a second look at Labour.
Bold policies like setting out an alternative to austerity, embarking on a mass housebuilding campaign or nationalising the railways have certainly changed the terms of our political debate.
I am sure I am not the only one who has noticed how unsettled the SNP have been by Jeremy’s strong beliefs and the fact they are now no longer the biggest story in town.
Indeed, with one of their MPs caught up in a very worrying property scandal and unable to explain why they had to give so much public money to a successful music festival, the SNP may be relieved at the distraction.
Labour has a long way to go to win back the trust of the people of Scotland and we face a major challenge in the Scottish Parliament election.
I am under no illusion that we have a lot to do.
I became a Labour activist when I was still at school because I believed the Labour party was capable of making the world a better place.
We carried a sense of optimism that the change we wanted was possible.
I still strongly believe that to be true and am encouraged by the renewed enthusiasm and energy we have seen in recent weeks.