Brown pays tribute to Blair in conference speech

Chancellor Gordon Brown has paid tribute to Prime Minister Tony Blair’s leadership of the Labour party in a keynote speech at the party’s conference in Brighton.

In a speech, described by some commentators as that of a ‘Prime Minister in waiting’, Mr Brown said that Mr Blair deserved credit for not only winning three elections, but also for successfully leading the Labour Party for ten years, through “difficult and challenging times.”

Mr Brown, who is tipped to succeed Mr Blair when he steps down before the next General Election, stressed that the party would fight the next election as ‘New Labour’ and said that the party had to continue to provide “the voice of the mainstream majority.”

Mr Brown said: “The renewal of new Labour will be as profound a challenge, as rigorous a task and as great an achievement as the creation of new Labour. I will – in the next year – visit every region and nation of our country. I want to listen, hear and learn to discuss the economic, social and constitutional changes we need to build for the future.”

Mr Brown stressed that Labour would remain dedicated to Mr Blair’s policy of reforms and said that the party needed to “dominate the centre ground”. He said: “The only future of the Labour Party is a party of reform.

“When commentators tell you the next election will be old Labour versus new Conservatives, tell them the truth. The next election must and will be New Labour renewed against a Conservative Party today incapable of renewal.”

The Chancellor also emphasised the strength of the economy in his speech, although he did warn of the impact of rising oil prices. He also pledged his commitment towards ending child poverty

The Chancellor said that he wanted Britain to become a “home-owning, share-owning, asset-owning, wealth-owning democracy” for everyone.

Mr Blair is due to deliver his conference speech on Tuesday afternoon.

(KMcA/SP)