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Change we choose
A collection of Gordon's speeches, from the last few years that show how his values have formed his responses to the challenges we have faced, both globally and in the UK.
Introduced by figures as diverse as Nobel Prize winners, other global leaders and the late Senator Edward Kennedy.
Introduction from Nobel Prize Winners Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz
‘I would like to mention the positive things achieved by the UK government in general and by Gordon Brown's leadership in particular. One is the recognition of the need for the global world community to get together – in the crisis period he was arguing for the G20 to meet and which he organised in April 2009, and it was, in a sense, a turning point. We needed global understanding of the crisis and a joint determination to deal with it.
‘Secondly, you need not only global cooperation but also economic strength, not just at home but everywhere – to have a lot of sick economies doesn't help. One of the problems we faced was the huge burden of debt in the developing countries, which leads to stricken economies. This was something Gordon Brown was aware of, and it was he that got agreement on debt relief at the G8 in Gleneagles in 2005.
‘Thirdly, Gordon Brown was rightly sceptical of the deregulation initiatives of the 1990s. He was aware of the fact that the success of market economies is dependent on there being good state institutions as well and that the banks’ incentive system for their employees was wrong and needed to be changed.
‘Gordon Brown showed leadership in emphasising the need for global cooperation, the need for financial reform and in recognising that the global threat is a mutually interdependent affair.’
Amartya Sen, Nobel Prize for Economics 1998
Transcript from filmed interview, September 2009
‘Had it not been for the actions that have been undertaken, the global economic crisis would have been much worse and the situation today would have been much worse.
‘Gordon Brown's response to the global economic crisis exhibited real leadership not only in the substance but also in moving the world into a new global framework which he planned and which has proven to be an important framework in getting the whole world together to deal with what is the most significant economic crisis of the last 75 years.
‘I think Gordon Brown really deserves very high marks for the way in which he responded to this crisis. There are alternative economic approaches – fortunately the UK has been lucky to have somebody who has been able to sort out these various arguments and come out with the right perspective.
‘One of the distinctive elements of Gordon Brown's approach to these problems is that, although he has been working hard on the global financial crisis, he has not lost sight of the bigger picture.’
Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize for Economics 2001
Transcript from filmed interview, September 2009
‘All of us are very proud of the remarkable ties of history and heritage that bind the United States and Great Britain. Our ties are strong, deep and enduring, and in these troubled times they surely offer the best hope for a better and more peaceful planet in the years ahead. That warm relationship is based on profound mutual respect and a genuine commitment to the fundamental principles and ideals we share. Our common goal is to advance the cause of freedom and the basic human rights of all peoples everywhere. Our mutual vision of the world is a future of lasting peace and prosperity in which all people have the opportunity they deserve to fulfil their dreams.
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‘Prime Minister Brown and I had a productive discussion this morning. Both of us greatly value the special relationship between our nations. The United States and the United Kingdom have stood together through thick and thin, through war and peace, through hard times and prosperity – and we've always emerged stronger by standing together. So I'm pleased that my first meeting overseas as President is with Gordon Brown, just as I was pleased to host him in Washington shortly after taking office. And I know that we both believe that the relationship between our two countries is more than just an alliance of interests; it's a kinship of ideals, and it must be constantly renewed.’
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Over two thousand years ago, the Roman poet Publilius Syrus declared that “speech is the mirror of the soul; as a man speaks, so he is”. Alas, rare are the political speeches today that meet this standard. But there are exceptions – including the two speeches Prime Minister Gordon Brown delivered at the United Nations in 2008 and 2009, (included here in Chapters 3 and 10).
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Gordon Brown was an exemplary steward of the economy of the United Kingdom for over ten years and, indeed, throughout that period was without peer among the world’s economic policy makers.
Since he became Prime Minster of the United Kingdom, he has had to face what will surely be remembered as one of the most dramatic and lethal economic downturns in history. The economic crisis swept round the globe in a matter of weeks and had to be dealt with promptly, firmly and decisively. History may well judge that the right man was in the right place at the right time.
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“My family arrived in Israel when it was still under British mandate. In our pockets were British Palestinian passports; in our hearts the Balfour declaration. The State of Israel began to take shape as Great Britain, under the leadership of Winston Churchill, saved the world from the Nazi threat. It was a time when many countries closed their gates to Holocaust survivors. The nascent Jewish state was alarmed. The urgency of building a Jewish state with open gates to absorb the displaced was crucial.
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On 9 November 2009 we celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. That day, Prime Minister Gordon Brown gave an impressive speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate. The 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall was a very special occasion for us Germans.
It reminded us of the historic events in 1989 which symbolise the sweeping away of the Iron Curtain which once ran through the heart of Berlin, Germany and Europe. During the period when Germany was divided the United Kingdom stood shoulder to shoulder with the Federal Republic of Germany. I would like to express my personal thanks, and those of my fellow Germans, to our British friends for their resolve and steadfastness.
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As dawn broke on 7 June, on the Normandy beaches, armies of men and women came from England’s shores to liberate our country. France knows what she owes the British combatants who made the supreme sacrifice in the face of oppression and barbarity. She is eternally grateful to them. France honours their memory.
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I am pleased to introduce the text of the address delivered by Prime Minister Brown to the European Parliament in March 2009, a speech in which he showed the political vision and the social conscience that characterizes his leadership.
Gordon Brown stands for what is best in politics. Through his words one immediately senses a man of deep social values, for whom fairness and human dignity are not empty concepts but the keystone of his political compass. A man who deeply believes that, in his own words, “a good society and a good economy needs a strong sense of values (…), the solid virtues of honesty, responsibility, fairness and valuing hard work – virtues that come not from markets but actually come from the heart”. A man, thus, deeply committed to a fair and decent society.
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‘It is a special pleasure, Prime Minister, to welcome you and Mrs Brown back to Guildhall for your second Lord Mayor’s Banquet, accompanied by a number of your senior ministers, and we all appreciate the time and effort which you have taken to attend. At this time of financial crisis and impending economic recession, it is all too easy to forget our history. The City has built its world position because it has been able to attract large numbers of very highly skilled people who know that, irrespective of gender, race or creed, they can create successful careers and enjoy a good quality of life here.
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‘This is such an important conference because we are witnessing a major increase in the interest of using nuclear energy due to energy security, climate change and many other considerations. With the increase in the use of nuclear energy for power generation, there will definitely be an extensive need for nuclear fuel for powering the reactors and also for assurance of supply.
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‘Let me say something in direct support of my good friend and colleague Gordon Brown. I said this to the United Nations last September. This bloke has been on the question of the Millennium Development Goals, the collective conscience of the West, well before they were ever popular or trendy. Gordon has kept this alive, both as Chancellor and as Prime Minister, and his continued engagement with the likes of me around the world always has that on the agenda. I do not know whether to describe it as a ‘still, small voice’, but in the theological tradition of the ‘still, small voice’, this loud, booming Scottish voice is always on people about this. Advocacy is necessary. That is my first point.
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As Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown commissioned the Stern Report, which concluded that, inter alia, failure to avoid the worst effects of climate change could lead to global GDP being up to 20 per cent lower than it otherwise would be – an economic cost greater than the losses caused by two world wars and the Great Depression. Acceptance of the report by the government laid the foundations for the substantially revised energy and climate change policies the government has pursued, particularly since 2007. With the formation of the Department of Energy and Climate Change, under Ed Miliband, the momentum in this area has been maintained, with an impressive agenda including firm carbon-reduction targets, an enhanced renewables strategy, a renewed commitment to nuclear power generation and revised plans for clean coal and carbon capture in conventional power generation.
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This speech was given in the week before Armistice Day and just before the annual remembrance ceremony at the Cenotaph. As the Prime Minister says, at these ceremonies ‘we remember the sacrifices made by generations of our armed forces who have given their lives in the service of this country. We celebrate their courage, we honour their extraordinary dedication and we remember them with pride. For the sacrifice and the great achievements of our armed forces are defining features of our nation, a testament to the strength and irrepressible spirit of a Britain always prepared to do what is necessary to protect the liberty and security of its people – a Britain that fights for its values, that stands up against the things we know are wrong.’
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The Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops takes place every ten years at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Also invited are bishops from other churches in communion with the Anglican Communion, bishops from the United Churches and a number of ecumenical guests. In July 2008, the Prime Minister addressed the audience of 650 Anglican bishops, their spouses and representatives from other faith groups and churches in the courtyard of Lambeth Palace, following a Walk of Witness through central London, where some 1,500 faith leaders, diplomats, parliamentarians and NGO heads highlighted the urgent need for more action on tackling poverty through sustainable solutions.
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