Stick to core Labour values - Brown

Chancellor Gordon Brown has declared that the Government is steeled to take the tough decisions needed to achieve social justice - warning that the Labour way will often involve taking "the hard road".

In his keynote speech to Labour's annual conference in Bournemouth, Mr Brown cautioned that only by being true to its values and objectives would the Government regain the public's trust following its recent troubles.

Mr Brown told delegates: "My message is that where we have succeeded in our first six years of Government, where we have built a bond of trust with the British people, and where we will succeed in the future, it is by demonstrating the strength to take the long-term decisions, it is by being honest with the British people about the direction and challenges ahead, and it is by taking the Labour road - often the hard road - being true to our Labour values."

Mr Brown told delegates the Government's goal was to create a future "fair for all" - which demanded full employment, high productivity, world-class public services, and the eradication of child and pensioner poverty.

The Government's grip on power was not about the enjoyment of power for its own sake, nor was his own commitment to economic stability a commitment for its own sake.

Rather, said Mr Brown, they were about "stability and power for a purpose, to be on the side of hard working families".

Mr Brown told delegates: "Our vision for Britain has never been more relevant: that no-one be locked out of opportunity, that opportunity and social justice in Britain in 2003 should not depend on class or connections, on birth or background, on where you come from or who you know but opportunity and social justice should be the promise of Britain not just to some but to everyone."

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