THE Chancellor will today give a broad hint that more Government money will flow into public services, but his message will be tinged with the economic realism about extra funds having to be earned.
In his keynote speech to conference, Gordon Brown will seek to portray New Labour as the party of economic competence, which has achieved the golden scenario of falling unemployment and inflation coupled with growth and rising job vacancies.
He will cut a very different figure from his Labour predecessor, Denis Healey, who in the late 70s oversaw an economy in decline and suffered the humiliation of having to go cap in hand to the International Monetary Fund.
In contrast, Mr Brown, praised internationally for his handling of the UK economy, is now chairman of the committee that oversees the IMF.
Following on from his assertion yesterday - ''My aim for the next decade for Britain is nothing less than full employment in the next century'' - Mr Brown will stick to his central aim that this Labour Government will not fall foul of the problems of previous ones, spending too much early on, only to drastically cut back later.
''In the years ahead we will always be vigilant about stability. Our Labour Government will never take risks about inflation. I will never let the deficit get out of control. We will not spend money we have not earned. We must never again let Tory economics ruin people's lives, and it's precisely because of what we have been able to achieve together that we can now raise our sights,'' he will tell the party faithful.
''Raising our sights'' is likely to be taken as a big hint that, if price and pay inflation can be kept under control, then more money will flow into public services.
''A high and stable level of employment is our goal. Not jobs for life, which no government can promise to deliver, but job opportunities for all through all their working lives.''
He will speak about workers and employers showing responsibility on pay and investment, stating that if they did, then: ''Britain can deliver in our generation employment opportunities for all. A goal this party has long sought, a goal now within our reach for the 21st century. Full employment for our country.''
The Chancellor will also speak of Britain's new economy having more competition, more entrepreneurship, and long-term investment. Companies, indeed countries, which fail to reform will simply fall behind.
He will add: ''We must never again become a party that is seen as anti-success. Our enemy isn't markets but monopoly, not competition but cartels, not profits but privilege.''
At a meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington last night the Chancellor claimed a significant breakthrough in the drive to secure international agreement on writing off the debts of the world's poorest countries.
Mr Brown and International Development Secretary Clare Short pledged a further #31.3 m towards financing the debt relief programme. The move, following intensive discussions in the United States capital, prompted other industrialised countries to promise a further $300m in aid.
Leader comment Page 12
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article