You are in:
- Archives » 2007 » June 2007
PM Brown Promises Change
Britain's new Prime Minister Gordon Brown has promised an era of change in his first speech. Speaking after the short journey between Buckingham Palace and Downing Street, he said that in his travels around Britain, he had listened of to calls for change.
He said that his 'new government with new priorities" would work to renew the National Health Service and address the issue of affordable housing would be major issues.
In what seemed like a deliberate break with his predecessor, he said he would restore trust in government. There was also a criticism implicit in his declaration that British people were calling for change.
His mission, Brown said, was to provide opportunity for all and to "fulfil the potential" of the British people. He spoke of his own background as a youngster in Scotland, and promised to ensure others would be offered the same opportunities he enjoyed.
The Prime Minister stressed the newness of his government several times, perhaps in an effort to present a fresh face. He said he would work across party lines in the name of "New Politics", calling on "people of goodwill" to join his project.
Newness is crucial to Brown. He was the joint architect of the New Labour project and has taken total credit for its economic successes. He has tried to distance himself from its failures, but this will be difficult to achieve by such a key figure - the only senior Labour figure, with the exception of Tony Blair, who remained in office for the entire length of Blair's premiership.
