Gordon Brown's foreword to Labour party conference strategy document
Updated on 08 September 2008
Gordon Brown's foreword to the Labour party conference strategy document given to members of his cabinet today.
Our country is changing. The economy, technology, our population, society, and politics, at home and abroad, are all being transformed, and these five revolutions, linked together, are taking us into a new world.
Never before have so many changes taken place simultaneously in so many different spheres, so quickly, and with such potentially radical consequences. And new times and new challenges have to summon forth new answers.
This new world is one of huge promise and opportunity. Our children could live lives of which our parents could only dream.
The world economy will double in size and wealth over the next 25 years, bringing new prosperity and opportunities. We can be certain that some countries will benefit disproportionately, and so will some people: the wealthy and powerful can always seize the opportunities of change.
Our task, as a party, as a government, now is to ensure that our country and all of our people make the most of these opportunities and are protected against the risks that accompany radical change.
The quest to ensure that power, wealth, and opportunity are in the hands of the many, not the few, is fundamental to our purpose. This is why the Labour party exists.
It is what enabled us to rise to the challenge of the times in 1945. And again in 1997. And it is why we will now rise again to meet the challenges of this new world.
The changes we are witnessing bring with them new challenges in every aspect of our lives:
Economic restructuring, driven by globalisation, has meant increased opportunity for many but also reduced security for lower skilled workers; unskilled jobs, once in the majority, are now rare: so, we need to ensure that everyone has the skills to work and prosper in this new world.
Growth intensifies the pressures of climate change which we must tackle for the sake of all the generations who come after us.
Greater freedoms than our people have ever known have also brought with them new strains on communities and family life.
The boundaries which mark out civilised society have been eroded.
New risks from abroad mean we need to reduce our dependence on oil to ensure energy security.
New threats from terror need to be tackled at source, whether at home or abroad, and require a more joined-up response.
Parents face new pressures of time and money in raising their family and the increasingly difficult task of juggling work and family life.
People are living longer and healthy lives but we need to ensure that everyone in the older generations who has given so much to our country receives the security in old age they are entitled to expect.
Since 1997, the accelerating advances in technology have completely transformed the way that people communicate, do business, and share ideas with each other.
My own response to the great challenges in my own life has been to confront them.
Political change has opened up new opportunities for individuals to participate and mobilise but has also created new challenges for political parties and governments to meet such rising expectations.
So instead of repeating the solutions of yesterday we must embrace the new policies of tomorrow and restate the case for our party and our values. Meeting this challenge will not be easy and it will not happen overnight.
There are no easy or quick answers. It requires leadership, squaring up to hard truths, being open with the British people about the choices we face, and making tough decisions on priorities for public spending.
I do not underestimate these challenges but I believe that Britain's future is bright. We will bring resolution to the task and determination to build, brick by brick, the foundations for success in this new world.
We have already acted to help many of those most directly affected by the economic difficulties sweeping across the world: those struggling to pay higher energy and fuel prices, and those who have to move home.
In this document, we will set out the argument about the new approaches we need to meet the new challenges:
Immediate support for those struggling with the impact of global instability, investing in the education and skills of all people, a new deal for the elderly, new support for parents and new approaches to delivering public services, and the long-term decisions on transport, energy, and climate change.
We must reach out to work with individuals, communities, and business for all the people of our country. The yearning for fairness, the unremitting quest for it, and the delivery of it in everything we do, is fundamental to our party.
Our policies today and everything we have done since 1997 are driven by our belief in fairness.
I know there are people who feel that modern Britain has been unfair to them. Some of them are right. But there is nothing that is bad about Britain that cannot be overcome by what is good about Britain, as long as we keep faith with our belief in fairness.
Throughout our history, this nation has repeatedly demonstrated a proud spirit of cautious and practical optimism and we call on that spirit once again.
Fair rules, fair chances, and a fair say for everyone: that is the new deal for this new world.
My own response to the great challenges in my own life has been to confront them, resolute in the belief that there would always be something that could be done to overcome them. And there always has been.
Now, once more, I am confident that we can come through this difficult economic time and meet these challenges a stronger, more secure, and fairer country than ever before.
None of us can address all the new challenges we all face on our own. We are all in this together - individuals, families, business, trades unions, civil society and government - all with our part to play. Together, in this new world of opportunity and change, there is nothing Britain cannot do.
