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FACTBOX-Gordon Brown's policies

11 May 2007 14:53:14 GMT
Source: Reuters

May 11 (Reuters) - British finance minister Gordon Brown launched his campaign on Friday to take over from Tony Blair as Labour Party leader and prime minister when Blair steps down on June 27.

Promising to form a "government of all the talents", Brown said on Friday he was absolutely committed to continuing with Blair's reform and modernisation drive.

Following are some of the policy areas Brown must tackle.

ECONOMY:

Brown has been finance minister since 1997 and markets have little to fear from a Brown premiership as economic policy is likely to remain unchanged. He has pledged to keep the tightest lid on public spending growth in a decade and announced cuts in the headline corporation and income tax rates from next year.

IRAQ:

Brown has publicly backed the Iraq war and accepted responsibility for going to war as a cabinet decision. However, he will be anxious to draw a line under the conflict -- perhaps the biggest reason for the government's unpopularity -- and has pledged to reduce troop numbers when possible.

One option would be to back U.S. Democrat calls for a faster troop reduction in the expectation the Democrats will take over the White House in 18 months. Afghanistan is a similar problem. On Friday, Brown said he would learn from mistakes that had been made in Iraq. He said there should be more emphasis on political reconciliation and economic development in Iraq.

THE UNITED STATES:

Blair has come under fire for his unstinting support of the Bush administration. Brown is likely to have a slightly cooler approach but disappoint those who feel Britain needs to be more anti-Bush. He has often said anti-Americanism is a mistake.

Brown met Bush for the first time in Washington last month and an aide to the minister said it was a "good meeting".

SECURITY:

Brown has publicly supported government plans to detain terrorism suspects for more than 28 days without charge, which was defeated in parliament. He has also spoken of winning over "hearts and minds" to deflect the threat of home-grown attacks.

On Friday, he said there must be a balance between defending Britain's security and protecting civil liberties.

EUROPE:

Brown is widely perceived as cooler towards Europe than Blair. He kept Britain out of the European single currency.

Nevertheless, Brown is aware that many key issues, such as tackling carbon emissions, require a European solution.

Nicolas Sarkozy winning the French election and Angela Merkel leading Germany may also give greater impetus to structural reform -- something Brown has advocated strongly.

He has refused to be drawn on what kind of European Union treaty he wanted but said he believed in a "Europe of governments cooperating with other governments."

TRIDENT:

Brown is committed to renewing Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent, which has angered some leftwingers.

PARLIAMENT/CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM:

Brown said on Friday that one of his first acts as prime minister would be to "restore power" to parliament. Government must be more open and accountable to parliament in decisions about peace and war and in public appointments, he said.

He called for a programme of constitutional reform that made government officials more accountable and made clear the rights and responsibilities of being a British citizen. He promised a new ministerial code of conduct.

He said there was a case for holding confirmation hearings for people named to some important government jobs.

EDUCATION:

Brown has pledged to raise spending on schools so pupils in the state sector suffer no disadvantage compared to privately-educated children.

He called on Friday for a new drive to focus on the individual talents of children and said he would seek to strengthen family life and address child poverty.

HEALTH:

Brown said on Friday that the state-run National Heath Service would be a priority for him in the coming months. Hospitals in some areas have been hit by cuts recently despite the large sums Blair's government put into the service.

Brown allies have floated the idea of setting up an independent board for the National Health Service that would give it constitutional freedom and hence continuity of policy.

But it is not clear this will go ahead.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY:

As all main political parties vie to seize the green initiative, Brown has made clear he prefers incentives to taxes, which may be regressive.

He believes tackling pollution has to be done at a global level since carbon emission ceilings are set at an EU level. He is also expected to back the building of new nuclear power stations though may be more cost conscious than Blair.

PLANNING:

Brown is likely to ease some of Britain's planning laws, building on a review by Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Kate Barker, commissioned by the Treasury.

This could enable easier building of new homes, shopping centres and nuclear power stations.

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Last updated:Fri May 11 14:55:05 2007