As a teenager I chose the Labour party because of its values – values that I grew up with. That is why I am honoured and humbled that the Labour party has chosen me to lead it.
But I believe that the Labour party has made a decision about more than its leadership. As a party, we have shown that we are united in our determination not to retreat into the past, but going forward as New Labour to address the opportunities and challenges of the future.
For me, and for all of us in the Labour party, we are beginning a new conversation with the country. The last 10 years have taught me that the best preparation for governing is not meetings in Whitehall. The best preparation for governing is listening to the British people. And the best way of drawing up policies for the Queen’s Speech will not be discussions in government departments, but listening and learning – and involving and engaging the voices of people too often left unheard.
We have always served the country best when at every point we start from the concerns, struggles and the rising aspirations of hard-working families. And my visits across the country have confirmed my view that we must address new, different and more pressing challenges to which we must respond.
These include young couples frustrated they cannot buy their first home; young people with talent and ambition wanting the best chance to realise their aspirations; patients disappointed that services are not open at the times they want and nurses and NHS staff who feel they don’t have enough time with their patients; mothers and fathers who want the best schools for their children, and – struggling with work, family and child care – want to be better parents for their children; families who want to do the right thing for our environment and who want to know that their choices make a difference; citizens yearning for stronger families and stronger communities and ready to help build them; and elderly citizens seeing the fast pace of change around us and anxious to know how we can protect and strengthen the British way of life.
So as the world changes our priorities must change, and the way we govern must change too. We must reach out to those who feel the political system doesn’t listen and doesn’t care, to those who feel powerless and have lost faith, and to those who feel Westminster is a distant place and politics simply a spectator sport.
That is why over the coming weeks and beyond, I am travelling the country in order to learn better about the challenges ahead. I will spend time at the front line in the NHS with doctors, staff and patients, hearing the problems they face. I will listen and learn with parents and teachers. I will meet police, community support officers and residents to look at how neighbourhood policing can make our streets safer. And I will discuss with parents how we can support them and help strengthen family life.
In the past six months I have had the privilege of attending what are called citizens’ forums, organised by national bodies from Age Concern to the National Consumer Council, on youth services, on public health, on services for the elderly, and on education.
These events make a very different form of conversation possible – politicians learning from everyday experience, people engaging in genuine discussion. It is about a different type of politics – a more open and honest dialogue: frank about problems, candid about dilemmas, never losing touch with the concerns of people. And by listening and learning, I want to become a voice for the parent, the patient and the public.
For 10 years I have tried to deliver a stable economy, and that will always be the starting point. In 1997 we inherited a Britain of economic instability, unemployment and chronic under-investment in public services. Since 1997 we have had the longest period of growth ever, creating 2.5 million more jobs and the first ever minimum wage.
This did not happen by accident. It happened because we applied our values – investing for the long term, putting the needs and concerns of British families first, and being willing to take tough progressive decisions –
to economic policy.
It is one of my proudest achievements that people now trust Labour with the economy. And our work in building economic stability over the past decade has offered us valuable lessons. It has taught me that we must always act on the basis of a long-term vision for our country; we must always be on the side of hard-working families; and we must build a progressive consensus – year by year winning more and more people to the argument that Britain can be a stronger and fairer society, where not just some but all can make the most of their potential.
The task ahead is to build an even stronger economy with even higher standards of living, and a stronger society with a higher quality of life for everyone in this country. On this platform of economic stability, I will lead a new government with new priorities.
Progress readers will rightly want to know what I will focus on as prime minister. My passion is education. My immediate priority is the NHS. And I will address the new challenges we as a country face – affordable housing; building safe, secure and sustainable communities; and building trust in our democracy.
Just as my first act as chancellor was to give away power to the Bank of England to restore trust in economic policy, so one of my first acts as prime minister would be to restore power to parliament in order to build the trust of the British people in our democracy. Government must be more open and accountable to parliament – for example in decisions about peace and war, in public appointments and in a new ministerial code of conduct.
Over the coming months, I want to build a shared national consensus for a programme of constitutional reform that strengthens the accountability of all whom hold power; that is clear about the rights and responsibilities of being a citizen in Britain today; that defends the union and is vigilant about ensuring that the hard won liberties of the individual, for which Britain has for centuries been renowned round the world, are at all times upheld, without relenting in our attack on terrorism.
The Britain I believe in is a Britain of fairness and opportunity for all. Every British citizen with every chance to make the most of themselves. Every community fair to every citizen. If you work hard, you’re better off. If you save, you’re rewarded. If you play by the rules, we’ll stand by you.
Duty to others, compassion, the importance of family – these are the values that guide me, and I believe the British people. These are for me the best of British values: responsibilities required in return for rights; fairness not just for some but all who earn it.
There is so much more to do to make Britain the country we all want it to be. I am more optimistic than ever about what we can achieve together – a strong economy and a good society. Together we can create a Britain where individuals can rise as far as their talents take them, and where the talents of each of us then contribute to the well being of all. Together I know we can win the next general election.