Gordon Brown’s long wait is almost over but the keys to 10 Downing Street come
with a heavy burden. Labour has used up much goodwill after 10 years and
voters are fed up with the government. Mr Brown is not much liked by the
public or most of his fellow ministers. John Reid has jumped ship. Others
mutter about not wanting to work with someone whose style has been called
“Stalinist” by a former cabinet secretary. If Mr Brown does not change, he
will preside over more cabinet splits and walk-outs than in the early days
of Margaret Thatcher’s government. But Mr Brown has many merits, including a
seriousness of purpose, stamina and an ability to take hard decisions. The
question is whether he will rise to the challenge. The Sunday Times believes
he can if he tackles core issues that will lead to a better Britain. These
are our 10 priorities:
Education Exam grade inflation does not disguise the fact that too many
schools are failing. More than half of 16-year-olds leave without good GCSEs
in English, maths and science. A fifth have been identified by employers as
illiterate. We know from Mr Brown’s speeches that he recognises the
importance of education and skills “in a globalised world”. But he must take
action. He has to push through reforms that give schools not just shiny new
buildings but also world-class teaching standards. That will mean
confronting the teaching unions and extending genuine choice. Rather than
slowing down Tony Blair’s city academy programme, Mr Brown should accelerate
it to raise standards for all pupils.
Health Yesterday Mr Brown spoke the language of “personalisation” about
the National Health Service; enabling patients to see their doctor when they
want, including evenings and weekends. That is welcome, but difficult given
the contract the government has signed with GPs. Nor should personalisation
be an excuse to go slow on choice. We know he was opposed to foundation
hospitals when Alan Milburn identified them as a way of improving standards.
Mr Blair finally tried to ensure that taxpayers got a decent return for the
billions poured into the NHS by putting patients first and promoting real
choice. Mr Brown, instinctively uneasy about competition within public
services, has to take this further; patients will stand for no less.
Spending and waste Taxpayers grudgingly accepted extra spending on
public services and voted Labour in three times on that platform. What
grates is that so much of the money is wasted on bureaucracy and
inefficiency. Mr Brown, personally austere, has not imposed that austerity
on Whitehall. He has to do so as prime minister. A projected slowdown in
public spending will help, but it is not enough.
Tax The key thing that makes Middle England uneasy about Mr Brown is
that he is a taxer. The burden has gone up from nearly 35% to almost 38%,
equivalent to a £40 billion hike in taxation. In his recent budget he tried
to pass himself off as a tax-cutter, slicing income tax and corporation tax
by 2p in the pound. This was a sleight of hand, paid for by tax rises
elsewhere. Now he must commit himself to really reducing tax (as he has done
in private) without damaging public services.
Pensions The £5 billion a year tax raid on pensions was one of his most
damaging early moves. Our ageing population is not saving enough for
retirement and we have growing inequality between the protected pensions of
the public sector and the precarious retirement incomes of private sector
workers. Lord Turner’s proposals tackled some of these issues but the
government caved in to union demands to keep public sector retirement at 60.
Mr Brown needs to revoke that deal.
The environment The public can be persuaded to go green as long as the
measures are seen as fair and not a backdoor route to tax rises. So far Mr
Brown has failed on these counts, notably with the doubling of air passenger
duty and higher taxes on 4x4s. He wants eco-friendly housebuilding but has
yet to provide people with proper incentives to change their behaviour.
Devolution With the Scottish National party just ahead in Scotland, Mr
Brown faces a political battle that could seriously sidetrack his
premiership. He should not allow it to do so. If majority opinion in
Scotland is in favour of a looser union, would that be such a bad thing? If
there was a vote in favour of independence – unlikely given the state of
public opinion – it could result in a more dynamic Scotland less dependent
on English handouts. English voters will not forgive Mr Brown if he is
obsessed with Scotland. Instead, he should concentrate of decentralising
government and devolving more power to councils.
Europe For years UK policy towards Europe has been seen through the
prism of euro membership. That is no longer true, offering the prospect of
something much better. Mr Brown has a mar-vellous opportunity after the
election of Nicolas Sarkozy in France. With Angela Merkel in power in
Germany, there is the prospect of a triple alliance of Britain, France and
Germany pushing a pro-reform agenda throughout Europe and curing the the
euro-sclerosis that has so blighted the continent. Proposals to revive the
European Union constitution should be killed, as should Mr Sarkozy’s
flirtation with protectionism.
Foreign policy The simplest way for Mr Brown to get a boost in the
polls would be to distance himself from President George W Bush. It is also
the wrong thing to do. Britain is right to stand alongside America in
Afghanistan and the task has to be completed in Iraq after the bungling of
the aftermath of the war. Mr Blair rightly recognised that the relationship
with the United States is the rock on which Britain’s foreign policy has to
be built. Mr Brown’s advantage is that he can play the role of a tougher and
more candid friend than his predecessor. The challenge of Islamic extremism
can be met only by a Britain united with America and Europe.
The conduct of politics Mr Brown has stated his intention of bringing a
new honesty to politics, more power to parliament and the cabinet and reform
of the constitution. One thing is straightforward. He should say no to the
state funding of political parties. The public, rightly, will not wear it.
Mr Brown promises a new broom and new, clean politics. If he achieves it,
the money will flow in to Labour’s coffers. If not, he will know he has
failed.
Aspirational Britain is on the move from Labour. The Tories deride Mr Brown as
the “roadblock to reform”, a tribal politician. He must prove them wrong.
That can only be done by destroying the old Labour interests that first
nurtured him.
