New Labour new life for Britain [antikvár]

The leader's statement We are now a maximum of nine months away from a general election. It is time to step up another gear and do everything in our power to remove this weak, divided, incompetent and damaging Tory Party from office. It's wrecked too many lives, hun too many people, and run down Britain for too long. It is time for new Labour to breathe new life into Britain. We need to build on the great success we have achieved this year. It has been a year in which new Labour has been cemented in the minds of the British people. Even the Tories have been forced to admit we are a changed party. We have made record gains in the local elections -reducing the Tory presence in local government to a handful of councillors. We have a new constitution, 150,000 new members and we have clear policies that are relevant to the British people. Those changes could not have been made without the support, hard work and energy of ordinary party members -members who voted nine to one in favour of the new Clause IV, and who have worked tirelessly in the last year to replace the Tories with a Labour government. In the last year we have shifted the emphasis from new Labour to new Britain. We have shown the public that by having the courage to change ourselves we also have the courage to change Britain. It has been a year in which we have shown how new Labour has the vision and the practical policies to address Britain's problems. In July we launched our draft manifesto new Labour new life for Britain. It was the first time that a political party had launched its plans for government almost a year before a general election. It will be the first time too, that the entire membership of a party has been given the chance to vote on its manifesto. New Labour new life for Britain will be voted on at this conference and will then go to a ballot of all individual and affiliated party members shortly afterwards. This early manifesto is a document that addresses the concerns of the British people. It demonstrates that Labour will govern for the many, not the few. Before launching the early manifesto document, we undertook a series of policy reviews to update our policy, make it more relevant, and ensure we could deliver on it in government. New Labour new life for Britain is not the last word. But it lays new Labour's foundations for the new Britain we seek to build. I want every single party member to be part of this process, this manifesto, and this vision for a new and better Britain. The principles underlying this document would be very familiar to Labour leaders and Labour activists in the past. It is a rediscovery of the essence of Labour: a party that speaks up for the weak as well as the strong; a party that knows the individual thrives best within a strong commmunity; a party that believes in standards and a basic moral code. A party that seeks to create a society that is genuinely one nation, in which we realise the potential of all our people. In every single area of policy we now set out both a vision and clear, direct and practical proposals. For industry and jobs, not switching the clock back, but taking measures to modernise and equip our business and people for the new global markets. Getting people from benefit into work. Practical proposals for improving skills. Harnessing new technology. Helping small businesses. Upgrading road and rail. Developing British science and innovation. Opening up markets abroad. Fairness at work. That is the message I took around the country with other Shadow Cabinet members in our successful business tour. We spoke to more than 10,000 businessmen and women in every region of Britain. In schools, upholding the comprehensive principle, but modernising it to take account of different abilities. Ours are practical proposals to revolutionise primary school standards and teaching, getting a fair balance in university funding between public subsidy and student contributions. In health, getting money out of NHS bureaucracy and getting it to frontiine services. We have practical proposals to improve preventative healthcare. On crime, tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime. We have practical proposals to tackle young offenders, drug abuse, reform criminal justice, help the police, but also give the chance of decent work or education to all our youngsters. In Europe, leadership not isolation, winning not losing. We have practical proposals for EU reform. A taxation and expenditure system where we are spending less on welfare and more on in investment for the future - aware when we can cut tax that it is the hard-working majority's mm to see the benefit, not simply those at the top. In every area, policy that is relevant to the needs of the British people and achievable in government. People do not want us to promise the earth. They just want us to make a start, And they want us to make promises we will keep, as examples of the kind of changes we will make. We have made five early pledges to the British people. And we ask them to keep hold of a copy of them to make sure that we keep our promises.