Brown – Economic success is ‘no accident’
The Chancellor, Gordon Brown, told delegates at the Labour conference in Bournemouth that Britain’s position of economic strength was not achieved by accident.
He also pledged to achieve full employment in every region and nation in Britain, build a modern manufacturing industry for Britain and achieve social justice and opportunity for hard working families.
To this end he referred to plans to create a statutory pension protection fund to guarantee the pension rights of workers. He also outlined plans to tackle child poverty both at home and on an international scale.
In a keynote speech to the conference, Mr Brown began by paying tribute to the general secretary of the T&G, Bill Morris, describing him as ‘a fighter against discrimination’. ‘The greatest tribute we can pay to Bill …is to rededicate ourselves today to removing the BNP from every council seat they hold.’
The Chancellor highlighted the strength of the British employment rate and unveiled a plan for full employment ‘for every region and nation of our country’.
‘Opportunity and social justice should be the promise of Britain, not just for some but for everyone,’ the Chancellor declared.
But, he added, ‘economic success and social justice are not in conflict.’
He pledged to build on the strength of the economy by boosting manufacturing, with cash boosts for science, and research and development and plans to review procurement so that British manufacturers and British firms do not lose out to overseas firms.
The Chancellor used his speech to back the UK’s strong relationship with the US, but also stated that the Government would promote the euro if the UK can achieve ‘sustainable and durable’ convergence with the eurozone
He claimed that the international community must tackle the ‘scandal of agricultural protectionism around the world’ and insisted that Britain can become a ‘model – a beacon for Europe’ by combining economic strength and enterprise.
Mr Brown announced that Andrew Smith, Work and Pensions Secretary, would legislate for a new statutory pension protection fund, through which ‘every worker will have their pension protected and their pension rights guaranteed.’
The Chancellor also issued a passionate plea to Labour supporters to support the Government. He acknowledged that there were doubts about the party’s direction, but stated, ‘Sometimes when things look difficult, times seem hard, pressures are great.
‘When some may feel that complacency has crept in, momentum has been lost or the vision dimmed.’
‘Then take inspiration from the unyielding determination of our pioneers: tough times did not diminish their idealism but made them even more determined that to transform lives you have to transform society,’ he added.
