Brown: ‘no going back on reform’
Chancellor Gordon Brown has insisted that he will continue to pursue the reform agenda set in place by Tony Blair if he were to become the next Labour leader.
In an extensive interview with The Sunday Times to coincide with the start of the Labour party conference in Brighton today, Mr Brown pledged his commitment to the continuation of Mr Blair’s “home-owning, share-owning democracy” vision.
Speaking to the paper while in New York, this is the first time that Mr Brown has hinted openly about his possible role as Mr Blair’s successor.
His comments may disappoint many within the party who would prefer to see a reversal of the government’s reform agenda for public services, which has attracted criticism from the trade unions.
Clashes with the unions over the raising of the pension age for public sector workers, and concerns over the £690 billion shortfall in public sector funding are already causing discomfort within the government and are likely to dominate the conference.
Meanwhile Dave Prentis, leader of the UK’s largest union Unison, has accused the government of “dismantling our health services”, amid concerns over increased private sector involvement in delivering public services.
Mr Blair is expected to warn the conference during his keynote speech of the danger of returning to leftwing policy-making. It is generally believed that the prime minister will stand down in 2008.
As a result, Mr Brown affirmed his loyalty to the New Labour programme and to the work of Mr Blair, describing his appeal as “an incredibly successful Labour leader”.
He continued: “What I want to do is deepen and broaden that appeal.”
Mr Brown said: “There’s no going back on reform. In fact, we will renew the Labour government by us becoming, as we have been since 1997, reformers in all areas.”
Meanwhile, Mr Brown announced on Saturday that a deal had been agreed to write-off some of the debt of the world’s most impoverished nations at the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in New York.
