- Defiant Brown prepares to face down the rebels
- Prime minister to announce series of new measures in crucial speech
Tuesday September 23 2008
Gordon Brown will seek to end the corrosive speculation surrounding his premiership today with a speech in which he will promise to extend the welfare state, close the digital divide and steer Britain through the global fiscal turmoil.
In what is seen as the most important speech of his career after months of criticism, the prime minister will not directly attack the rebels calling for his removal, but will seek to show he has the grit, intellect and grasp of the future to take the party to a fourth term. One aide said: "The speech's subtext is to prove there is no other politician than Brown that has the knowledge and experience to take the country through last week's threats to the whole edifice of British banking."
Rather than dwelling on the setbacks and mistakes of the past 12 months, Brown will unveil a series of initiatives specifically aimed at lifting families and pensioners who are most vulnerable to the steep economic downturn, including:
· Computers and free broadband access for children deprived of internet usage.
· Extended help for carers who are looking after sick or elderly relatives.
· A £1bn extension of childcare for children as young as two.
Brown's speech, described as highly personal by his aides, has already been set as a vital test by some disillusioned MPs, who doubt whether he can ever communicate a clear vision of what Labour is offering the country. The prime minister began writing his first draft on his summer holiday, but the text has been through substantial redrafts as the scale of the global financial crisis has grown.
In a touch supposed to underline his seriousness, as opposed to what he considers to be the shallow showmanship of David Cameron, he will speak from a lectern, and not roam the stage speaking without notes. He will tell delegates that to "ensure we are prepared for the times to come" he will spend £300m over the next three years giving 1.4 million children access to the internet with free broadband and computers. Vouchers worth between £100 and £700 will be offered to unconnected households to provide broadband, software, and, if necessary, computers. They will be distributed by schools. OECD research has shown lack of access to the internet badly disadvantages children because they cannot use open learning techniques or equip themselves for work. IT skills are required in 90% of jobs.
The government also believes the programme will help teachers in the move towards increased contact with parents via the internet on issues such as homework, their child's progress and discipline. Increasingly ministers want parent-teacher contact to be via regular internet contacts not once-a-term meetings.
The money for the programme has been found by the schools minister, Jim Knight, who has made savings elsewhere in the children department's budget. Knight said it showed that even in tough economic times the government could find resources to reduce inequality and improve the life chances of millions.
Many at the conference are hoping to hear not just a strong condemnation of the culture of City bonuses in Brown's speech, but also some intimation of action, or even a hint that taxes on the very rich will rise.
In his speech yesterday the chancellor, Alistair Darling, warned that "huge bonuses can distort the way decisions" are made by banks, but he later indicated that he was not planning any early legislation or taxes. He stressed that any solution would probably need to be global.
Darling is acutely aware that with so many jobs depending on financial services, he cannot afford to allow the rhetorical attacks on the City to get out of hand.
Richard Lambert, the CBI director general, said he had been given assurances by the party leadership yesterday that the left were "whistling in the dark" if they thought an ideological sea change towards City regulation was taking place at the top of the party.
Darling did continue to pave the way for higher borrowing, claiming the government's handling of the economy had enabled it "to let borrowing rise to support the economy and the families when they need it most".
In contrast, Miliband tried to lift the mood by saying "these Tories are beatable", adding: "Just as I hate defeatism about our country, I hate defeatism about our party." The mood of the Brown camp was lifted by the Miliband speech , which the prime minister's allies believed did not represent a threat to his grip on power.
Meanwhile the leadership brushed aside two defeats when delegates backed a windfall tax on utilities, and called for an end to the opt-out on the 48-hour working week in the working-time directive. Both resolutions will be sent to the party's policy forum for further consideration.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/sep/23/gordonbrown.labourleadership