Labour conference: Brown to stand firm in face of world financial crisis

Mr Brown promised to do "all it takes" to stabilise turbulence in the markets and join other countries in "rebuilding" the world financial system.

He told Labour's conference that the world had "spun on its axis" in the last week and a "new settlement" was needed to avoid a repetition.

In his make-or-break speech to Labour supporters, Mr Brown said his "unwavering focus" was on taking the country through these challenging times.

"In truth we haven't seen anything this big since the industrial revolution.

"This last week will be studied by our children – as the week the world spun on its axis and old certainties were turned on their heads.

"And in these uncertain times, we must be, we will be, the rock of stability and fairness upon which people stand."

Mr Brown said this was a "defining moment" for the country and continuing market turbulence showed the need for a "new settlement," which Labour, as as "pro-market party" must pursue.

"A settlement where the rewards are for what really matters – hard work, effort and enterprise.

"A settlement where both markets and government are seen to be the servants of the people, not their masters."

He promised to do "all it takes to stabilise the still turbulent financial markets and then, in the months ahead, rebuild the world financial system around clear principles".

Ahead of his US trip to meet other government leaders after the conference, the Prime Minister set out the proposals he planned to put forward.

"First transparency – all transactions need to be transparent and never hidden.

"Second, sound banking – a requirement to demonstrate that risks can be managed and priced for bad times as well as good.

"Third, responsibility – no member of a bank's board should be able to say they did not understand the risks they were running and walk away from them.

"Fourth, integrity – removing conflicts of interest, so that bonuses should not be based on short term speculative deals but should be a reward for hard work, effort and enterprise.

"And fifth, global standards and supervision – because the flows of capital are global, then supervision can no longer just be national but has to be global."

The new settlement, he said, also required "another great and historic endeavour to end the dictatorship of oil and to avert catastrophic climate change, a transformation in our use of energy".

Mr Brown mocked the ability of the Tories – and shadow chancellor George Osborne in particular – to cope with the current financial crisis.

"Just imagine where we'd be if they'd been in a position to implement their beliefs – no rescue of Northern Rock, no action on speculation, no protection for mortgages, doing nothing to stop banks going under.

"What has become clear is that Britain cannot trust the Conservatives to run the economy.

"I'm all in favour of apprenticeships, but let me tell you this is no time for a novice."

Union leaders warmly welcomed Mr Brown's speech and pledged to work with him to try to win Labour a fourth term in office.

Billy Hayes, general secretary of the Communication Workers' Union, said: "This was a very positive speech. With the current global economic crisis he is the right person at the right time.

"We expect to see him take further steps to ease the burdens.

"We are delighted to hear the broadband announcement and this demonstrates the Government planning for the future.

"We look forward to working with them to overcome the digital divide."

Derek Simpson, joint leader of the Unite union, said the Prime Minister had scored an "injury time winner" and he predicted that Labour could now go on to win the next election.

"This was a real Labour speech from a real Labour leader. He showed there is a huge gulf between Labour and the Tories.

"His recognition of the turmoil in the market, action for families, children and the elderly and his determination to reduce the gap between the rich and poor all show that he is on the side of hard working families."

Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, said: "It was a terrific performance. He showed real passion that perhaps he hasn't shown before.

"He proved he has a passion for social justice, which is also at the heart of this Government. There were some very powerful and effective attacks on the Conservatives."

Gordon Brown's speech was hailed as "excellent" by Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

He said: "The speech was an excellent speech. I think Gordon found his true voice."

Schools Secretary Ed Balls added: "This is has been a very united conference. I think people's gut instinct after hearing that speech will be Gordon Brown is the right man for the job."

Culture Secretary Andy Burnham said: "I think you have seen quite graphically here today what the party thinks about the Prime Minister.

"Leading this country is a huge, huge responsibility and task and you need a man of experience and we saw him in action today."

Housing Minister Caroline Flint said: "I think he showed how close he is to the real issues."