Category: Speeches

Gordon Brown – 2009 Message to NHS Staff

The message sent by Gordon Brown, the then Prime Minister, on 21 December 2009.

2009 has been a tough year for us all, but your dedication and commitment has seen our cherished National Health Service rise to the challenge – and so I want to thank you for your enormous contribution to the country this year.

Public satisfaction with the NHS is at an all time high and recently it was rated as one of the world’s best health care systems. We saw over the summer just how deeply the public love it and just how much we all appreciate your devotion to saving lives, relieving pain, preventing sickness, curing illness, caring for the old and comforting all those who have fallen in the struggle of life. As we enter the world and as we leave it, and at all those moments of trauma and transition in between, we need the workers of the NHS – and you are there.

You make the difference between fear and hope, anxiety and security, between giving in and going on, and so often the difference between life and death. It is only thanks to you that this Government has been able to offer not a gamble but a guarantee; a legal right that anyone with suspected cancer will see a specialist within two weeks, and a future programme to introduce a new right to cancer diagnostic tests, with results, within one week. I know that this country can lead the way in fulfilling the dream of a generation; beating cancer. We can only do it because the NHS enables us to pool the resources of each of us to guarantee excellent care for all of us.

I firmly believe that we measure a society best not by the size of its wealth but by the width of its compassion, the breadth of its care and the depths of its generosity. Ours is a country where all of these qualities are best realised in one iconic national achievement – a National Health Service based on need and not on ability to pay, a service for the whole nation that is the finest insurance policy in the world.

As you face another Christmas sacrificing time with loved ones to serve others, let me also pay tribute to the incredibly long hours you have put in this year to confront the Swine Flu epidemic. The response of the NHS has been extraordinary and the whole country is extremely grateful.

However deep or difficult the financial implications of the recession, my pledge to you is that we will always put the front-line first. The staff of the NHS are the backbone of our wonderful country, and we will not let you down.

05/01/2023
Gordon Brown – 2009 Podcast on Copenhagen Climate Change Summit

The text of the podcast made by Gordon Brown, the then Prime Minister, on 21 December 2009.

This weekend the world came together in the first step towards a new alliance to overcome the enormous challenges of climate change.

But, as you saw, the talks in Copenhagen were not easy. And, as they reached conclusion, I did fear the process would collapse and we would have no deal at all.

Yet, through strength of common purpose, we were able finally to break the deadlock. In a breakthrough never seen on this scale before – secure agreement from the international community.

But this cannot be the end – in fact, it is only the beginning and we must go further still.

To do that, we must learn lessons from Copenhagen and the tough negotiations that took place.

Never again should we face the deadlock that threatened to pull down those talks. Never again should we let a global deal to move towards a greener future be held to ransom by only a handful of countries.

I believe that in 2010 we will need to look at reforming our international institutions to meet the common challenges we face as a global community.

And we’ll need to harness the best of low carbon technology for the world to continue to grow whilst keeping to our pledge made this weekend to limit the increase in global temperatures to two degrees celsius.

I am convinced that Britain’s long term prosperity lies in leading the necessary transformation to a low carbon, greener future.

We must become a global leader not just in financing greener technologies but in the development and manufacture of wind, tidal, nuclear and other low-carbon energy.

And as we look towards a new decade, be assured that your government will play its part in supporting the ambitions of our entrepreneurs and leading businesses and the expertise of our scientists and engineers in making this transformation.

For it is not just at international summits that Britain must lead the fight to tackle climate change – it’s here at home too.

Working to protect the only planet we have is about our moral duty to our children and grandchildren.
Like every parent, I understand we all want to see our children get on and do well in life and I believe that each generation should have greater opportunities and possibilities than the last.

And I believe in making Britain more ambitious and in helping you to fulfil your aspirations for a better quality of life and a better standard of living.

A fairer Britain is the driving force behind everything we do. Government is there to help people get on, not just get by.

That’s why we have helped ensure that the past year has not been as bleak for the vast majority of you as past recessions.

Last week we had encouraging news that as we approach Christmas, there are more people in jobs, and also that more young people are being helped through these challenging times.

If the experience of the last recession had been repeated, unemployment would have been so much higher; repossessions twice as bad and company insolvencies two and a half times worse.

And it’s not just the economic measures which are giving me cause for optimism.

Crime has continued to decline – bucking the trend of every other recession when it has soared.

Of course, there are no grounds for complacency. Challenging months and tough decisions lie ahead and we’re determined to do more.

Jobs, apprenticeships, training and work experience will help kick start the careers of thousands of young people, giving them the confidence and self-esteem that comes with playing an active role in society.

We’ve also guaranteed that every person on unemployment benefits for six months – whatever their age – will be £40 a week better off when moving into work.

So our message is that we are a country of aspiration and opportunity and we as a government will support the hard-working majority and that is a government of optimism.

We have faith in our young people, in our shared futures and in a greener, fairer Britain for all that I’ve just talked about.

Can I take this opportunity to wish you and your family a very happy Christmas.

05/01/2023
Gordon Brown – 2009 New Year’s Message for 2010

The message made by Gordon Brown, the then Prime Minister, on 30 December 2009.

In his New Year message the Prime Minister has promised to continue to protect and improve Britain as it enters a new decade.

The Government’s priorities will be to secure economic recovery, reform public services, clean up politics and continue fighting the threat of terrorism, Gordon Brown said in a podcast released today.

The PM added that the UK would continue to step up efforts to disrupt terrorists planning to mount attacks on Britain.

“This will have my relentless focus in 2010, just as Afghanistan will have. We will steadily be giving more control of Afghanistan to Afghan troops and police.

On the economy, the PM said the Government’s strategy is to “go for growth”, and in his podcast he predicts that the New Year will mark the start of a “great decade for a great nation”.

Mr Brown said the Government is determined to reduce the deficit without “choking off” the recovery or damaging frontline services.

“Even as we take the tough decisions to halve the deficit, we can still invest in Britain’s future. I say this because Britain is too great a country with so much potential – and people with such high aspirations – that in the coming decade we must not settle for anything less than big ambitions.”

The Prime Minister said the Government will shortly publish the first part of its plan for investment in industries and jobs for the future.

“If we continue to make the right decisions to unleash all the talent that is to be found in these islands, we have much to look forward to – and you and your families have my warm best wishes for the year ahead.”

The PM’s podcasts, which are available on our iTunes channel and YouTube, are recorded at Downing Street or around the world when the Prime Minister is travelling.

05/01/2023
Gordon Brown – 2010 Letter to Medical Aid for Palestinians

The letter sent by Gordon Brown, the then Prime Minister, to Medical Aid for Palestinians on 1 January 2010.

Dear Friends

Your open letter to me of 27 December in The Observer was right to draw attention to the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza, one year after a conflict that cost over a thousand Palestinian lives and those of over ten Israelis.

As I have made clear repeatedly to the Israeli government, it is unacceptable that Israel continues to prevent aid from reaching those who so badly need it in Gaza. EU Foreign Ministers reinforced our call for full humanitarian access earlier this month.

Alongside diplomatic pressure, I pledge that the UK will remain in the forefront of the humanitarian effort. Following the offensive a year ago, we spent £20 million on humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza.

And on 28 December, Douglas Alexander announced a total package of £53.5 million for Palestine, with a particular focus on Gaza – including £5 million of new funding for the United Nations’ work with Gazan refugees.

While Hamas’ actions can be no justification for preventing aid reaching the people of Gaza, Hamas must remove the menace of rocket attacks against the people of southern Israel, and release Gilad Shalit.

Ultimately, we can only give the people of Gaza real hope when genuine negotiations bring a lasting and just peace settlement. The parameters of such a potential agreement are clear. In the coming year, we must pursue still more vigorously a comprehensive peace based on secure and viable states of Israel and Palestine. For all of our futures, those who oppose justice and peace for the peoples of the region must not be allowed to prevail.

Yours sincerely

Gordon Brown

05/01/2023
Will Quince – 2023 Comments on NHS Staffing Levels

The comments made by Will Quince, the Minister for Health, on 5 January 2023.

Growing the workforce is one of my immediate priorities and we are making significant progress in training and recruiting a record number of staff – with over 42,000 more people working in the NHS compared to a year ago – and we are well on track to deliver on our commitment to recruit 50,000 more nurses.

Thanks to these dedicated staff we’re building a stronger, healthier NHS for the long-term and we will publish a workforce plan this year to recruit and retain more staff and make the NHS the best place to work.

05/01/2023
Gordon Brown – 2010 Article on Super Fast Broadband

The article written by Gordon Brown for the Daily Telegraph on 8 January 2010 and released by 10 Downing Street as a press release.

The severe weather gripping Britain has closed businesses and schools and left many people unable to get to work or keep appointments. Police advice – rightly – is not to travel unless your journey is essential. But if you urgently need to see a doctor, or keep a business running, you may feel that you must venture out in spite of the conditions.

Rural communities particularly suffer at such times. But imagine if you could hold a consultation with your GP over the internet in real time, or easily access your office computer network from home, or hold two-way video conferences. These are the very real possibilities that super-fast broadband could offer within just a few short years.

By investing now in this digital revolution, we can bring to households and businesses all over the country internet speeds 50 times faster than most people experience today. Such advanced communications will encourage more employees and employers to make greater use of teleworking. This can deliver benefits both to the firm and the worker, as well as the wider economy, society and the environment.

Teleworking can mean more job opportunities, for example, for the disabled and those with child-care responsibilities who wish to work part-time – or allow someone to take a job with a firm based too far away for a daily commute – while also improving work-life balance for many. Potentially, it can also contribute to reducing congestion and lowering carbon emissions.

The number of people working remotely from home more than doubled in the decade to 2007 and, as next-generation broadband becomes more widely available, this figure will only increase rapidly. All our lives will be transformed beyond recognition by the exciting opportunities for business, education, leisure and access to public services. Indeed, it will soon be seen as indispensable as electricity, gas or water.

The private sector is rightly leading the way, and investing significant sums in next-generation digital communications and technologies. But, left alone, they are likely to reach only the two-thirds of communities, mainly urban and highly populated, seen as commercially viable. And I am clear that this revolution must benefit all, and so here there is also a role for targeted, strategic action by government.

We must complement and assist broadband providers to move farther and faster; to bring super-fast connections to households and businesses to every corner of the country. That is why we have set out plans for £1 billion of extra investment to ensure that all regions of Britain – including those with sparse populations – are covered by 2017. We are doing this, even in a recession, because the fastest and most modern broadband network will create and expand thousands of companies and mean thousands of new jobs.

The digital initiative is just one of the many ways through which we believe we can create 1.5 million new skilled jobs in the coming years. And no one area should be left out of this expansion in opportunity simply because of its location.

We are determined in particular to see rural communities benefit from this investment and the economic and social advantages that will inevitably follow.

So, by using the previously announced fixed-line levy to finance this, we must move forward quickly with digitalisation and extension of broadband to make Britain a leader in the digital world.

A comprehensive digital infrastructure is one of the key foundations of the UK’s future growth and prosperity. And government will help to unleash the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit at which Britain excels, by releasing thousands of publicly held data sets, as a result of the vision of Sir Tim Berners-Lee.

When, for example, figures on London’s most dangerous roads for cyclists were published, an online map detailing where accidents happened was produced almost immediately to help them avoid blackspots and reduce injuries. After data on dentists went live, an iPhone application was created to show people where the nearest surgery was to their current location.

Thanks, too, to the exceptional work of Martha Lane Fox, our aim within the next five years is to shift the vast majority of large transactional services online. This should help secure even better value for money. Evidence from local authorities indicates that on average, carrying out a telephone transaction online can save £3.30 and switching from paper and mail to online can save £12 per time. In all, it is estimated that shifting significant transactions in this way could save £1 billion.

Yesterday, we launched a plan for going for growth – “Our Future Prosperity” – setting out how we will harness the value of enterprise, knowledge and of our greatest asset: people. And investing in a modern infrastructure, including high-speed rail and super-fast broadband, is critical to its success.

05/01/2023
Gordon Brown – 2010 Comments on the 20th Anniversary of the Release of Nelson Mandela

The comments made by Gordon Brown, the then Prime Minister, on 11 February 2010.

Meeting Nelson Mandela for the first time was one of the proudest moments of my life. It felt a long way from my first engagement in his cause when I was Editor of my student newspaper and breaking a story about the University’s investments in apartheid South Africa. I didn’t know then that there would be a wave of campus occupations, and our University like so many others would be forced to disinvest, or that for the next 20 years as a student, a trade unionist, an MP and then a shadow minister I would remain involved in the campaign against this despicable racist regime.

I don’t think any of us will ever forget where we were on the day Nelson Mandela was freed. The first President of a rainbow South Africa, Madiba spent his life after prison not to recrimination and revenge, but to healing a divided nation in the service of his people.

His story reminds us that that there is no corner of the earth so far away, no injustice so entrenched, no enemy so powerful that people of good conscience cannot campaign for change and win. Five years ago, Nelson Mandela addressed a crowd in Trafalgar Square and thanked the people of Britain for their solidarity during his imprisonment. On your behalves, I would like to thank him in turn. Because today – on the twentieth anniversary of his release – it is his example that gives us the hope to struggle anew for the justice and freedom for all people to which he has dedicated his life.

05/01/2023
Gordon Brown – 2010 Message to the Winter Olympics Team

The message sent by Gordon Brown, the then Prime Minister, on 12 February 2010.

When Britain won the right to host the Summer Games in 2012, we did it with a promise to inspire a generation of young people in this country.

And as Great Britain’s team for the Vancouver Winter Olympics, you are now the most important torchbearers of that promise.

Nothing has more power to inspire young people than seeing our best athletes competing at the very pinnacle of their sport.

While you’re away, it will be hard to truly appreciate the impact that your performances over the next fortnight will be having at home.

But you will all be aware of the unique place that elite sportsmen and women hold in our culture – and the extraordinary relationship Britons have with our sporting heroes.

The country is tremendously proud of your achievements in reaching the Games – and proud of a team that can boast current world champions and a host of outstanding talent.

The whole nation is behind you – as ambassadors not only for your sport and your country, but also for London 2012.

I wish you every success and the very best of luck.

05/01/2023
Gordon Brown – 2010 Podcast Text on the Economic Recovery

The text of a podcast made by Gordon Brown, the then Prime Minister, on 3 April 2010.

For many of us, Easter is a time for reflection and spending time together as a family.

I know that times have been tough and that many people are still apprehensive about their jobs, their homes and their businesses.

Whether it’s a worker watching their wages, or a parent juggling the household budget, or a small business owner calculating the cash flow, I hear every day how worried people still are.

Our economy has just been through a global financial crisis and at the moment we’re in a period of fragile recovery. In the past few months growth has returned. In fact, latest figures show that in the last quarter of 2009 the economy grew faster than people originally thought – by 0.4 per cent.

And in the last three months we have seen unemployment fall. And we have seen vacancies rise.

In total 300,000 men and women are leaving the unemployment register every month.

The improved ‘Time to Pay’ scheme has given over 200,000 businesses longer to pay £5bn worth of tax. These businesses employ more than 1.4 million people, and the additional time has helped those businesses pay more of the tax they owed.

And this year almost half a million families have received extra tax credits.

All our efforts have been focused on getting us through the recession – and now they are designed to secure the recovery.

That’s why we have a designed a plan to secure the recovery and raise your living standards.

First of all, we are continuing the vital support we have been giving the economy until recovery has firmly taken root.

That includes the extra investments we’re making in big infrastructure projects like high-speed rail – and the support we are giving to the sectors which will underpin our return to prosperity: industries like low carbon; digital; advanced manufacturing and life sciences.

And secondly, we are from this month increasing the support we’re giving to small businesses – the backbone of our UK economy.

Our Time to Pay scheme is now being extended until the end of the next Parliament.

And we’re cutting business rates from October for a year for over half a million small businesses in England – 345,000 of whom will pay no business rates at all.

And then thirdly, we are increasing the number of jobs created for young people through the actions of the Future Jobs Fund.

This is providing up to 120,000 paid jobs for young people and a further 50,000 jobs for those over 25 in the hardest hit areas.

In total we’ve put £5 billion in to help people looking for jobs – money that some people opposed.

I believe that securing the recovery is the biggest issue facing our country. That means we shouldn’t take money out of the economy this year.

Let me explain it a bit like this: I know Wayne Rooney’s just had an injury to his foot and I know everyone will be hoping he’s fit for the World Cup but after an injury you need support to recover, you need support to get back to match fitness, you need support to get back your full strength and then go on to lift the World Cup.

So with the economy – we’re not back to full fitness, we need to maintain support. If you withdraw support too early, we’ll risk doing more damage. And that’s why so many people – the CBI, IMF, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, economists and other thinkers and the vast majority of business people I’ve spoken to say it’s wrong to take money out of the economy this year. And that’s why I think it’s wrong to say that we should take six or seven billion pounds out of the economy this year.

Now of course we need to make sure that money goes to skills, to jobs, to small businesses and to job creation and we need to be ruthless on cutting down on waste – and we’re doing that – but if we try and jump off the treatment table as if nothing had happened we’ll do more damage to the economy – and frankly that means we risk a double-dip recession.

I think that’s a risk we can’t afford to take. So going for growth and jobs to achieve prosperity for all is the overriding duty and responsibility of this Government – and I promise you we will not let you or your family down.

05/01/2023
John Stonehouse – 1969 Statement on Resolution of Post Office Dispute

The statement made by John Stonehouse, the then Postmaster General, in the House of Commons on 3 February 1969.

I am glad to take this first opportunity to inform the House of the agreement I reached with the Union of Post Office Workers last Friday, 31st January, on the pay of the overseas telegraphists.

As I told the House on 20th January, I had offered 5 per cent. from 1st July, 1968, plus a further 2 per cent. from an early date, conditional upon acceptance of certain changes in practice devised to increase productivity, in particular the introduction of what is known as “Received Revision procedure”.

The agreement is for a 5 per cent. increase from 1st August, 1968; for a further 2 per cent. productivity payment from 1st April, 1969, provided the Received Revision procedure has been fully introduced by then; and for a post hoc revaluation in October, 1969 of the savings achieved, any necessary adjustment of the 2 per cent. being made retrospectively.

This costing will also take account of any other productivity changes that are agreed and fully introduced in the meantime and for the reactivation of O.T.R.U. to be completed by 30th September, 1969; and for the financial benefits of the reactivation to be considered jointly in October, 1969, any pay adjustments then thought necessary being backdated to 1st July, 1969.

This is a good agreement, which has the advantage of providing for firmly-based productivity arrangements related to defined changes in procedure by defined and early dates. It has an inbuilt incentive for productivity to be maximised to the benefit of the public, the staff and the Post Office.

I am delighted that the dispute has been settled in this fair and satisfactory way. I have no doubt that close and cordial working relationships with the union will quickly be restored so that we can go forward together to tackle the many new developments that lie ahead for the Post Office.

The immediate job is to restore services after the strike, and this is well in hand. Telecommunications services are largely back to normal already. All restrictions on postal services will be removed within the next day or so and services as a whole should be back to normal in a week.

Mr. Dobson May I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement, and offer him congratulations upon achieving what he and the union consider to be a just settlement to this dispute?

May I ask why there were no negotiations between Monday of last week and Friday, when the union was at all times willing to meet other members of the Government to discuss this dispute and the terms of a settlement, broadly along the lines now reached by my right hon. Friend?

Finally, will my right hon. Friend tell the House the cost to Post Office revenue of this very difficult and unnecessary dispute?

Mr. Stonehouse It was not possible until Friday to achieve the negotiations on the productivity arrangements that the Government throughout have regarded as the most important aspect of this affair. Originally, the union, although it changed its tack during the course of the dispute, had asked for a 5 per cent. increase from 1st July last year, with no strings attached. We have insisted—and I announced this to the House some time ago—on a firm productivity agreement for which we were prepared to pay 2 per cent. It was on Friday that we were able to hammer out a very satisfactory settlement along those lines.

The loss incurred by the Post Office through this dispute cannot yet be made exactly, but I should estimate that on the information we so far have at our disposal it is at least £2 million.

Mr. Lubbock Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that no one will blame him, whom we admire and like, for the failure of communications that has taken place, but that we do utterly deplore the failure of communications between the Post Office and the Cabinet? Could he explain why it is that, although the Post Office explained the issues involved in this dispute very thoroughly at successive Cabinet meetings, the Cabinet was so dense as not to appreciate them until the very last moment?

Mr. Stonehouse The hon. Gentleman would not expect me to follow him in some of those remarks. Ministers have been united in the way that they have been dealing with this dispute throughout. I can only regret that the union thought it necessary to escalate the dispute in the way it did, bringing in tens of thousands of postal workers who had no direct relationship with the narrow telegraphists’ dispute. That was the most regrettable aspect of the whole affair.

Mr. Raphael Tuck Is it not a fact that the union originally agreed to a 5 per cent. increase, linked to a productivity agreement relating to received revision and overseas telegraph tape relay unit? Why was the agreement not based upon that, without the necessity for a strike?

Mr. Stonehouse This has been a complex question, with which I have had to live for the last two or three months. It has involved a number of questions that we have debated in the House. The reactivation of a piece of equipment called O.T.R.U. was one of the aspects about which there was disagreement between the union and ourselves. We have now been able to reach a very satisfactory agreement on the reactivation of this particular type of equipment.

Mr. R. Carr Is it not time to stop playing with words? Is it not absolutely clear that on the terms now conceded by the Government there need never have been a strike? Ought not the Government to apologise to the country for the mess that they have made?

Mr. Stonehouse I said on Thursday that I regretted the strike, and I think that the whole House does. Certainly, all my right hon. and hon. Friends, and my colleagues in the Government, regret the strike. It was quite an unnecessary dispute. It is certainly true that the negotiations we had on Friday have reached a very satisfactory conclusion. I believe that this augurs well for the future relationship between the union and the Post Office, and that it would be wise for the House not to attempt to ferret into the details, the confidential details, of those negotiations. The House should direct its attention to constructive ends and the build-up of valuable and useful industrial relations in the Post Office.

Mr. Heffer Can my right hon. Friend say how much it would have cost to have settled the dispute, as he has now said that the cost of the dispute to the Post Office was about £2 million? Would he not agree that it would have been much wiser, more sensible, intelligent and better for industrial relations to have sat down at a table much earlier and settled the business rather than going through the great travail of this industrial dispute?

Mr. Stonehouse There is a very big assumption here, that it would have been possible a week ago to have achieved a solution to this dispute on the lines negotiated last Friday. The House will be aware that the union was asking for a 5 per cent. increase, back-dated to last July, without any strings attached. We have negotiated an agreement, backdated to last August, so protecting the six months’ retrospection rule. We also have the union’s full agreement to the introduction of a productivity arrangement that will be of very great value to the Post Office and to those who use our services.

Mr. Peyton Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that nothing he has said has erased the suspicion that this disagreement and the strike could have been avoided, and that the terms of the settlement were always available? Is he also aware that although there may be some sympathy for him, based very largely on the other suspicion, in this instance there were too many cooks spoiling the broth?

Mr. Stonehouse I repeat what I said. There is a very big assumption that agreement on the terms negotiated on Friday was available even a few days before. I believe that all the union negotiators involved in this dispute have come to an arrangement which is extremely satisfactory to their members, but they have also accepted something which was perhaps not available on their side even a few days, and certainly a week or so, before, namely, the need for a wage increase tied to a firm productivity agreement. That was the essential point which the Government had put to the union over the past week, and I am delighted that it has now accepted it.

05/01/2023