Here is his resignation speech :
As you know, the general election left no party able to command a majority in the House of Commons.
I said I would do all that I could to ensure a strong, stable and principled government was formed, able to tackle Britain’s economic and political challenges effectively.
My constitutional duty is to make sure that a government can be formed following last Thursday’s general election.
I have informed the Queen’s private secretary that it’s my intention to tender my resignation to the Queen. In the event that the Queen accepts, I shall advise her to invite the leader of the opposition to form a government. I wish the next prime minister well as he makes the important choices for the future.
Gordon Brown resigns, accompanied by his wife, Sarah, today.
Only those who have held the office of prime minister can understand the full weight of its responsibilities and its great capacity for good. I have been privileged to learn much about the very best in human nature, and a fair amount too about its frailties, including my own. Above all, it was a privilege to serve. And, yes, I loved the job, not for its prestige, its title and its ceremony, which I do not love at all. No, I loved this job for its potential, to make this country I love fairer, more tolerant, more green, more democratic, more prosperous and more just – truly a greater Britain.
In the face of many challenges in a few short years, challenges up to and including the global financial meltdown, I have always strived to serve, to do my best in the interests of Britain, its values and its people. And let me add one thing also. I will always admire the courage I have seen in our armed forces. And now that the political season is over, let me stress that having shaken their hands and looked into their eyes, our troops represent all that is best in our country and I will never forget all those who have died in honour and whose families today live in grief.
My resignation as leader of the Labour party will take effect immediately. In this hour I want to thank all my colleagues, ministers, members of parliament. And I want to thank above all my staff who have been friends as well as brilliant servants of the country. Above all, I want to thank Sarah for her unwavering support, as well as her love, and for her own service to our country. I thank my sons John and Fraser for the love and joy they bring to our lives. And as I leave the second most important job I could ever hold I cherish even more the first, as a husband and father. Thank you and goodbye.
- Similar posts
- Labour win Barnsley by-election (20.5%)
- Norman Wisdom dies (16.8%)
- NHS to retain Homeopathy (16.2%)
- Liberal Democrats hits new low (16.2%)
- Labour win byelection (16.2%)
Ed Miliband said his “new generation” would take Labour back to power, in his first big speech as party leader.
He praised the party’s achievements but said they had to face “painful truths” – such as the Iraq war being “wrong”.
However his comments about Iraq appeared to annoy his brother David, who he narrowly beat for the party leadership.
Mr Miliband has only been an MP since 2005 and was not part of the government during the invasion of Iraq – a decision which proved divisive for the Labour Party.
“I do believe we were wrong. Wrong to take Britain into war and we need to be honest about that,” he said.
However his comments about Iraq appear to have annoyed his brother, who was filmed asking Labour’s deputy leader Harriet Harman: “You voted for it, why are you clapping?”
BBC political editor Nick Robinson said it suggested the older Miliband brother, who has returned to London, would almost certainly announce on Wednesday that he was stepping down from front line politics.
In an hour-long speech he pledged to be a “responsible” opposition leader and not oppose every proposed spending cut.
But he said David Cameron offered a “miserable” view of what could be achieved and said Labour were the “optimists” who would change Britain.
Ed Miliband was greeted by enthusiastic applause from delegates in the packed hall at the Manchester Central venue as he arrived with his pregnant partner Justine.
Civil liberties
He struck a very personal tone at the start of his speech, talking about his upbringing and how his parents’ experience as refugees fleeing the Nazis had shaped his values and paying tribute to his “extraordinary” brother David.
Activists cheered as he said Labour had appeared “casual” about civil liberties and said he would not let the Tories or Lib Dems “take ownership of the British tradition of liberty”. And they applauded his comment that Labour’s foreign policy should be “based on values, not just alliances”.
David Miliband has issued a rallying call to the Labour conference, saying the party now had a “great leader” in his younger brother Ed.
The shadow foreign secretary, long favourite for the top job, said “I’ll be fine” before calling for party unity and getting a standing ovation.
He has yet to say whether he will serve in his brother’s shadow cabinet.
Ed Miliband has said that his brother has a “huge amount” to give to the party and British politics.
David Miliband has said he is talking to colleagues about his future, and wanted to take his time to make sure he made the right decision – with no decision until after the conference.
“I don’t know if you noticed but I came here on Saturday planning a slightly different week. I am now thinking what I am going to do instead,” he told reporters ahead of the speech.
BBC political editor Nick Robinson said a friend of Mr Miliband told him he was considering not running for the shadow cabinet and could quit politics, although colleagues insist he has yet to make up his mind.
Asked about his brother’s future on Monday, Ed Miliband said he would make his decision “in his own way and in his own time” but praised his “loyalty to me and the country”.
“He has a huge amount to offer our politics,” he added.
The two brothers met in private for nearly 10 minutes on Monday but it is understood they did not discuss David’s future.
Nominations have opened for the 19 shadow cabinet posts, to be elected by a ballot of MPs, but it is unclear whether David Miliband will put himself forward by Wednesday’s deadline.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11415568
Ed Miliband has won the Labour leadership after narrowly beating brother David in a dramatic run-off vote ahead of the party’s conference.
Ed won by just over 1% from former foreign secretary David after second, third and fourth preference votes came into play.
He said a “new generation” had taken charge of Labour and it had to change.
Ed Balls was third, Andy Burnham fourth and Diane Abbott last in the ballot of MPs, members and trade unionists.
Mr Miliband, 40, replaces acting leader Harriet Harman in the contest triggered by the resignation of Gordon Brown.
The former energy secretary appears to have benefited from a last-minute surge of support before voting in the postal ballot closed on Wednesday.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11412031
Labour’s leadership contenders have clashed over spending cuts and what the party needs to do to regain power.
In a special edition of BBC One’s Question Time, Andy Burnham said Labour should be “honest” and admit there would have been “significant” cuts if it had stayed in government.
But Ed Balls said cuts would not create jobs and Labour should not “do the job” of the coalition for them.
David Miliband, Ed Miliband and Diane Abbott also took part in the debate.
The four-month leadership contest is in its final stages, with the result due to be announced at the Labour Party conference on 25 September.
Labour MPs, MEPs, party members and members of affiliated organisations, including trade unions, have been casting their ballots since early September.
Asked what direction Labour needed to go in in order to regain power, David Miliband said he was best placed to “occupy the centre ground” and defeat the coalition at the next general election, urging Labour to “learn the lessons” of the past.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11336684
I’M not a fan of coalitions. But if the results of the recent General Election had been different there might have been a Labour/Lib Dem coalition.
And, in the event, there were active negotiations between our two parties, even though I for one thought they would get nowhere because the numbers were stacked against us.
The purpose of politics is that those elected then seek power, in order to put their policies and principles into action.
That’s entirely honourable.
So far as the Blackburn with Darwen Conservative/Lib Dem coalition – which lost office on Tuesday evening – is concerned, it was my duty to work with the two Conservative leaders of the Council – Colin Rigby, and Mike Lee.
I pay tribute to them for the way they put aside any party differences to work with me for the good of the borough.
But coalitions are always second best.
One of the reasons I have always argued against proportional representation is that it would lead to near-permanent coalition government.
You’d vote for one party, in the belief that if enough others did there’ll be a government of your choosing, only to find the winners were the losers, the losers were the winners, with the smallest parties sometimes permanently in power.
Or – if a truly awful system of PR were chosen, as for example the Israelis use, you’d end up with continuous instability, where the small parties on the extremes were often able to call the shots.
The manifestos of political parties are fundamental to our democracy.
They amount to a contract with the electorate.
They should illuminate both the values of the parties and their key policies.
But, with coalitions,major sections of the pre-election manifestos are often dumped in the post-election horse trading. Many electors may be forgiven for thinking that they’d been taken for a huge ride.
That, I am sure, is the feeling of many in our borough who voted Lib Dem in local elections.
That’s reflected nationally in the collapse of Lib Dem support, in the opinion polls and in local by-elections.
Their problem is now fundamental.
http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/comment/8394981.Lib_Dems_will_be_annihilated_at_the_polls/
Tensions between the Miliband brothers have been blown into the open after the former Labour leader Lord Kinnock accused David Miliband’s supporters of spreading “bloody bile” about Ed, the younger of the siblings.
As the Labour leadership contest enters its final stages before the ballot closes on Wednesday, Kinnock has charged David Miliband with behaving in a “deeply resentful” manner.
The Milibands, who insist they will remain loving brothers whoever is declared winner a week today, have struggled in recent weeks to hide personal tensions as the contest narrowed to a two-horse race between them.
Kinnock airs their differences publicly when he tells a Channel 4 docudrama of his surprise at David Miliband’s behaviour towards his younger brother, saying: “David’s response to Ed running has, to my astonishment, been deeply resentful. David’s people are spreading all kinds of bloody bile about Ed being in thrall to the left and he would be in the pocket of the unions and all kinds of crap like that.”
The programme, called Miliband of Brothers, is due to be shown on More4 next Friday night, on the eve of the announcement of the winner of the Labour leadership battle. It is a light-hearted drama, interspersed with interviews with friends of the brothers, by the makers of the satirical docudrama When Boris Met Dave .
The remarks by Kinnock, who is supporting Ed, hone in on an aspect of the race both Milibands refuse to talk about publicly: how the Labour leadership battle has inflicted severe damage to a warm and loving brotherly relationship. David Miliband had hoped that his younger brother would not stand, a view he intimated to Ed but did not explicitly spell out.
Peter Mandelson has launched a blistering attack on Left-wing Labour leadership contender Ed Miliband, blaming him for the party’s General Election defeat.
He mocked Mr Miliband for producing a ‘crowd-pleasing Guardianista’ manifesto that ‘offered nothing to people worried about immigration, housing and welfare scroungers’.
And the peer went on to savage Mr Miliband for disowning the document – even though he had written it.
‘Nobody else authored the manifesto,’ said Lord Mandelson, who is backing Ed’s Blairite brother David Miliband for the Labour leadership.
‘It was done by Gordon and Ed.’ But former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, who is backing Ed Miliband, yesterday accused David Miliband’s supporters of trying to smear the younger brother.
Speaking before Lord Mandelson’s comments were known, Lord Kinnock said: ‘David’s response to Ed running has, to my astonishment, been deeply resentful.
‘David’s people are spreading all kinds of bile about Ed being in thrall to the Left and that he would be in the pocket of the unions.’
In a BBC interview by respected political commentator Steve Richards, Lord Mandelson says: ‘I’m absolutely mystified by the manifesto on which we fought because its creator and author, Ed Miliband, has distanced himself from it, criticised it sharply and created the impression it’s not the manifesto on which he would have fought the Election.
‘The former Business Secretary said the document appealed only to readers of the Left-wing Guardian newspaper, calling it ‘a lowest common denominator manifesto, a crowd-pleasing Guardianista manifesto that completely passed by that vast swathe of the population who weren’t natural Labour voters’.
In his explosive intervention, Lord Mandelson also lashed out at another leadership contender, Ed Balls, claiming he urged Mr Brown to sack former Chancellor Alistair Darling so that he could grab the job for himself.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1313314/Ed-Milibands-Guardianista-manifesto-cost-Election–Mandelson.html
Diane Abbott has gained enough nominations to get onto the Labour leadership ballot paper.
The backbencher managed to reach the threshold after fellow left-winger John McDonnell withdrew from the race.
Ms Abbott wil go up against four former cabinet ministers – Ed Balls, Andy Burnham and David and Ed Miliband.
Labour members, trade unionists, MPs and MEPs will be balloted and the result announced on 25 September.
Ms Abbott – a left winger who entered the race because she wanted to offer an alternative to the male, middle class New Labour field – was helped to reach the 33 nominations she needed with the backing of fellow leadership contender David Miliband and acting Labour leader Harriet Harman.
The acting Labour leader, Harriet Harman, today took the unusual step of casting aside her impartiality and nominating Diane Abbott for Labour leader in an attempt to ensure a woman gets on the ballot.
The deadline for nominations is 12.30pm tomorrow and Abbott is scrapping with fellow leftwinger John McDonnell to be the rebel candidate who can garner 33 MPs unhappy at the prospect of the eventual race being contested by four similar candidates.
Another leadership candidate Ed Balls told a meeting of union members that MPs who had still to cast their vote and were considering backing him should instead throw their weight behind Abbott as he has already received the required 33 nominations.
Harman has long been worried that the eventual contest risks being between men with similar outlooks, so has decided to contravene the impartiality of the role temporarily.
A spokeswoman for Harman said: “The Labour party knows that whoever wins the leadership contest, there will not be a men-only leadership at the top of the Labour party as Harriet will continue in her role as deputy leader. “However, she feels that the party does not want the leadership election, and the debate that it will generate, to be men only. Harriet will play no part in the eventual outcome as she will not cast her vote. She will continue to serve as deputy leader alongside whoever wins. Therefore, she has nominated Diane.”
There is a bad-tempered debate over which of the two leftwing MPs should step aside to give the other a chance.
It is far from clear that Harman’s backing will make the difference for Abbott. With nominations closing tomorrow, some of the 42-plus backbench colleagues yet to make their nominations were apparently unwilling to forget what they say are years of rancour over her decision to send her son to a fee-paying school and what they say is an occasionally high-handed manner.
David Miliband leads the field with 71 supporters – nearly one third of the parliamentary Labour party – with Ed Miliband next on 54 and Ed Balls on 33. Tonight Andy Burnham’s team said he was “extremely close to crossing the line” with 29 MPs at 4pm.
Burnham is now joined by PR professional Jo Tanner, who is serving as his press secretary. Tanner was part of the communications pair feted for helping to bring Boris Johnson to power as London mayor in 2008.
Today both Miliband brothers visited Brussels to solicit support from Labour’s 13 MEPs. David told the MEPs that if elected he would invite their leader to join his shadow cabinet team.
A LABOUR leadership contender provoked outrage last night by joking about his desire to go back in time and “assassinate” Margaret Thatcher.
Veteran socialist MP John McDonnell won enthusiastic applause at a union-organised hustings with his shocking comment about the former Tory Prime Minister.
Referring to what he would do if he could turn back the clock, he told the meeting: “I was on the GLC (Greater London Council) that Mrs Thatcher abolished. I worked for the National Union of Mineworkers and we had the NUM strike. I think I’d assassinate Thatcher.”
His outburst was made in front of other Labour leadership contenders David Miliband, Ed Miliband, Andy Burnham and Diane Abbott. And fury intensified last night after none of them condemned the comments.
Senior Tories were last night revolted by the MP’s jibe against Lady Thatcher, who survived an IRA assassination bid in the 1984 Brighton bombing.
Backbencher Mark Pritchard said: “This is a particularly inappropriate and offensive comment. He should apologise to Lady Thatcher for this irresponsible and hurtful remark.
“Lady Thatcher was one of the greatest Prime Ministers of the 20th century, and the Left are clearly still bitter about her achievements.”
The sickening joke comes ahead of a scheduled visit by Lady Thatcher, 84, to 10 Downing Street tomorrow to meet Prime Minister David Cameron.
A source close to Mr Cameron said: “This is a deeply unpleasant and disrespectful remark.”
Senior Tories believe the incident is a sign of a lurch to the Left among grassroots Labour supporters following the party’s election defeat. Mr McDonnell, the MP for Hayes and Harlington, is hoping to be the Left-wing candidate in Labour’s contest to select a successor to Gordon Brown but remains 22 nominations short of the 32 needed to become a candidate.
The “elite” and pro-business policies of the last Labour government came under attack from candidates aiming to be the party’s next leader today.
In the first hustings of the campaign, five of the six MPs bidding to take over from Gordon Brown spelt out why they believed Labour lost the election, with a common theme emerging that the party had lost touch with its natural supporters.
David Miliband, his brother Ed, John McDonnell, Andy Burnham and Diane Abbott answered questions for two hours at the GMB’s annual conference in Southport today, recognising the important role union members will play in the election this summer.
The first delegate to ask a question quizzed the candidates on whether they would allow Lord Mandelson into the shadow cabinet.
Ed Miliband replied: “I think all of us believe in dignity in retirement.” He said Lord Mandelson had fought “like a tiger” to get Labour re-elected, but pointedly added that people in the shadow cabinet “should be elected”.
Mr Burnham said the party needed to be “refreshed”, with a new generation of leaders, adding: “Peter did some great things. But we created the impression that the elite was running the country. We must have a Labour Party that involves everyone.”
Mr McDonnell called for an end to the practise of “parachuting” politicians into senior positions.
The Hayes and Harlington MP later drew loud applause from the delegates when he talked about being on the receiving end of policies of Margaret Thatcher’s government when he worked for the Greater London Council and then the National Union of Mineworkers, quipping that he would have liked to “assassinate” the former Tory prime minister.
Simon Hughes and Tim Farron are the only two candidates for the Lib Dem deputy leadership ballot to be held next week.
Nominiations closed earlier on Wednesday in the contest to succeed Vince Cable as Lib Dem deputy leader.
Mr Cable has quit to concentrate on his new role as Business Secretary in the coalition government.
Mr Hughes is said to have the backing of as many as 29 Lib Dem MPs – making him the firm favourite.
Mr Farron told BBC News he currently has the backing of at least 12 MPs.
The election will be held on Wednesday, 9 June at a meeting of the party’s 57 MPs.
Mr Hughes, 57, has been MP for Southwark and Bermondsey for 27 years and is a former Lib Dem president who stood for the party leadership in 2006.
His bid has the backing of Mr Cable – deputy leader since 2006 – and his campaign team say they have been given pledges of support from 29 Lib Dem MPs.
Westmorland and Lonsdsale MP Mr Farron, 40, was first elected in 2005 and is backed by former Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell, for whom he worked as parliamentary private secretary.
His supporters say he has the backing of at least 12 MPs.
Both have pledged to maintain the Lib Dems’ independence – after the party agreed to go into coalition with the Conservatives when the UK general election resulted in a hung parliament.
The contest to replace Vince Cable as Liberal Democrat deputy leader got under way today as MP Tim Farron became the first to declare his candidacy.
Mr Cable announced last night that he would step down from the position in order to concentrate on his role as Business Secretary in the Government.
A successor will be chosen on June 9 and Mr Farron said he wanted to take the role to help maintain the “independence” of the party within the coalition with the Tories.
The MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale was among rebels who quit Nick Clegg’s front bench over EU policy in 2008 – but was later restored to the top team by the party leader.
Among his backers is former party leader Sir Menzies Campbell, whom he served as Commons aide before playing the same role for Mr Cable while he was interim leader.
Mr Farron said: “We were right to enter this coalition because it was in the national interest to do so and because at long last it has given us the chance to create a fair, free and green country.
“But it is also vital that the independence, radicalism and distinctiveness of the Liberal Democrats are maintained.
“I want to work alongside Nick Clegg to ensure that not only does the country benefit from this coalition, but that the Liberal Democrats’ electoral prospects benefit too.
“We have Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly, local elections and a possible fair votes referendum all within the next year that the Liberal Democrats must win.”
John McDonnell has got his first confirmed backers in the contest to become the next Labour leader.
The backbench MP is being supported by former minister Frank Field and fellow MPs Kate Hoey and Dai Havard.
The six leadership contenders need 33 nominations from MPs to get onto the ballot paper, a target achieved by only David Miliband and Ed Miliband so far.
Labour officials extended the deadline for nominations after Mr McDonnell argued the process had been “fixed”.
Candidates were initially given four days to secure nominations but Mr McDonnell, a frequent rebel against the government in recent years, said this discriminated against “non-establishment” figures like himself.
He also argued it did not allow newly elected MPs enough time to consider who to back.
Ed Miliband has secured the most support from MPs so far in the race to become the next Labour leader.
Figures published by the party on the first day of official nominations show he has the backing of 34 MPs, enough to mean he can stand in the contest.
Candidates need the support of 33 MPs to be able to get on the ballot paper.
Among the other five contenders, David Miliband, Ed’s brother, currently has 19 nominations Ed Balls has four and Andy Burham has one.
Neither Diane Abbott nor John McDonnell, both backbenchers on the left of the party, have any so far.
After the official nomination process opened on Monday, the Labour Party said they would update the figures twice a day on their website until nominations close on 9 June.
Left-wing firebrand Diane Abbott lobbed a hand-grenade into the cosy all-male contest for the Labour leadership today by announcing she would stand in the race to replace Gordon Brown.
Miss Abbott, who has been a constant thorn in the side of New Labour over the past 13 years, said she was standing because existing candidates like the Miliband brothers and Ed Balls all looked and sounded too similar.
With Harriet Harman and Yvette Cooper having already ruled themselves out, Labour was facing the embarrassment of having no women candidates for the leadership.
Miss Abbott said: ‘The other candidates are all nice and would make good leaders of the Labour Party but they all look the same. We cannot be offering a slate of candidates who all look the same. The Labour Party’s much more diverse than that.’
Ex-health secretary Andy Burnham says he wants to stand for Labour leader and “rebuild the party for new times”.
He told the Daily Mirror newspaper the party owed a “debt of thanks” to Gordon Brown and Tony Blair but said he would end “stage-managed” politics.
He said Labour had to understand voters’ sense of “unfairness” and that Labour lost because they felt “our priorities were not their priorities”.
David and Ed Miliband, John McDonnell and Ed Balls also intend to stand.
They must get the backing of 33 Labour MPs each by Thursday 27 May, if they are to get on the ballot paper.
In an article for the Mirror, Mr Burnham – who held three cabinet posts under Gordon Brown’s premiership – said the party “must avoid looking like we are disowning the past”.
Former Children’s Secretary Ed Balls will announce tomorrow that he is standing for the Labour leadership.
David and Ed Miliband have already declared they are in the running.
Andy Burnham, who was Health Secretary under Gordon Brown, is also expected to stand.
Jon Cruddas, a backbencher who had been tipped to take part in the contest, said yesterday that he would not be a candidate.
John McDonnell MP said he would stand if he could get the requisite number of nominations.
The winner will be announced at Labour’s annual conference in September.
Harriet Harman will remain as interim leader until then.
Backbench MP Jon Cruddas has said he will not stand for the leadership of the Labour Party.
Mr Cruddas, who came third in the deputy leadership race in 2007 and is a former adviser to Tony Blair, has maintained strong union links.
He said he had given it serious thought but would not be standing.
Brothers David and Ed Miliband have officially declared they will both run to replace Gordon Brown and Ed Balls has not ruled himself out.
Former health secretary Andy Burnham is also thought to be taking soundings – as is the veteran left wing MP John McDonnell.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8688535.stm
Ed Miliband has confirmed he is to stand for the Labour Party leadership against his older brother David.
The former energy minister declared his intention in a speech to centre-left think-tank the Fabian Society.
He said the party must renew itself and Labour needed to be “clear and honest” about the scale of its election defeat.
David Miliband has said he will stand for the Labour leadership, arguing the party needs to “rebuild” itself as a reforming force in British politics.
The former foreign secretary is the first contender to declare their interest in succeeding Gordon Brown, who quit as leader and PM on Tuesday.
Earlier Home Secretary Alan Johnson ruled himself out of the contest and gave his backing to Mr Miliband.
The party hopes to have a new leader in place by the end of July.
Deputy leader Harriet Harman has taken over as acting leader in the meantime.
Prominent Labour backbencher Jon Cruddas has said he is “actively considering” entering the contest.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8676752.stm
David Cameron tonight became Britain’s new Prime Minister.
Here is the full text of the speech he gave on the steps of 10 Downing Street:
“Her Majesty the Queen has asked me to form a new government and I have accepted.
“Before I talk about that new government, let me say something about the one that has just passed.
“Compared with a decade ago, this country is more open at home and more compassionate abroad and that is something we should all be grateful for and on behalf of the whole country I’d like to pay tribute to the outgoing prime minister for his long record of dedicated public service.
“In terms of the future, our country has a hung parliament where no party has an overall majority and we have some deep and pressing problems – a huge deficit, deep social problems, a political system in need of reform.
“For those reasons I aim to form a proper and full coalition between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.
“I believe that is the right way to provide this country with the strong, the stable, the good and decent government that I think we need so badly.
“Nick Clegg and I are both political leaders that want to put aside party differences and work hard for the common good and for the national interest.
“I believe that is the best way to get the strong government that we need, decisive government that we need today.
“I came into politics because I love this country. I think its best days still lie ahead and I believe deeply in public service.
“And I think the service our country needs right now is to face up to our really big challenges, to confront our problems, to take difficult decisions, to lead people through those difficult decisions, so that together we can reach better times ahead.
Advertisement – article continues below »
“One of the tasks that we clearly have is to rebuild trust in our political system. Yes that’s about cleaning up expenses, yes that is about reforming parliament, and yes it is about making sure people are in control – and that the politicians are always their servant and never their masters.
“But I believe it is also something else. It is about being honest about what government can achieve. Real change is not what government can do on its own – real change is when everyone pulls together, comes together, works together, where we all exercise our responsibilities to ourselves, to our families, to our communities and to others.
“And I want to help try and build a more responsible society here in Britain. One where we don’t just ask what are my entitlements, but what are my responsibilities.
“One where we don’t ask what am I just owed, but more what can I give.
“And a guide for that society – that those that can should, and those who can’t we will always help.
“I want to make sure that my government always looks after the elderly, the frail the poorest in our country.
“We must take everyone through with us on some of the difficult decisions we have ahead.
“Above all it will be a government that is built on some clear values. Values of freedom, values of fairness, and values of responsibility.
“I want us to build an economy that rewards work. I want us to build a society with stronger families and stronger communities. And I want a political system that people can trust and look up to once again.
“This is going to be hard and difficult work. A coalition will throw up all sorts of challenges.
“But I believe together we can provide that strong and stable government that our country needs based on those values – rebuilding family, rebuilding community, above all, rebuilding responsibility in our country.
“Those are the things I care about. Those are the things that this government will now start work on doing.
“Thank you very much.”
Harriet Harman has been named as acting leader of the Labour Party within minutes of Gordon Brown standing down as prime minister.
Ms Harman was Labour’s deputy leader and leader of the House of Commons in the last government.
She ruled herself out of the running to replace Mr Brown when he announced he planned to quit as Labour leader.
She is the second woman to lead the party. Margaret Beckett was acting leader after John Smith’s 1994 death.