Gordon Brown today launched his bid to succeed Tony Blair with a promise of sweeping changes to the political system to restore trust in government.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer opened his campaign with a speech in the Imagination gallery in Central London, surrounded by young Labour members in an apparent attempt to portray himself as a leader of the future.

He promised to restore power to parliamentary democracy by making ministers more accountable, introducing a ministerial code of conduct.

He also indicated that he would like people nominated for high office in the public sector to have to undergo US Senate-style hearings, so that the public could judge them on the ideas they would bring to the job.

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Sporting a new haircut and flanked by his campaign logo, “Gordon Brown for Britain”, the Chancellor described how his upbringing and personal experiences had affected his politics.

He insisted that as prime minister, he would stress substance above personality. “I do not believe politics is about celebrity. When you put yourself forward for leadership the country has a right to know where you come from, what you believe in and what you want to achieve.

“My father was a minister. For me my parents were, and their inspiration still is, my moral compass.

“It’s a compass which has guided me through each stage of my life. they taught me the importance of integrity and decency, of treating people fairly and of duty to others.”

Mr Brown said that he wanted to lead a government of all the talents, and even refused to rule out even having ministers from other parties.

He said that Britain needed a clearer constitution, that set out the rights and also the responsibilities of all citizens, saying that it would help "to unite people around a shared purpose".

He promised to spend the next few weeks, as he travelled the country in his election campaign, listening to the people and learning from them, so that he could put in place policies that better involved the public and reflected their views.

The first item in his first legislative programme in the Queen's speech would be a consultation process, said the Chancellor.

"One of my first acts as Prime MInister would be to restore power to Parliament, in order to rebuild trust in the British people in our democracy. Government must be more open and accountable to Parliament."

He said that a new ministerial code of conduct would be just a start, and promised to follow it up with an agenda for constitutional reform.

Earlier Mr Blair had at long last given his endorsement to Mr Brown as his successor, praising him as an "extraordinary and rare talent".

The day after he triggered the leadership election by announcing his resignation, in an emotional speech in his Sedgefield constituency, Mr Blair said that his long-time Chancellor had the "strength and the experience and judgement to make a great Prime Minister".

"I am absolutely delighted to give my full support to Gordon as the next leader of the Labour party and Prime Minister, and to endorse him fully," a serious-looking Mr Blair told reporters at 10 Downing Street during a joint press conference with Jalal Talabani, the President of Iraq.

"He is an extraordinary and rare talent. And it's a tremendous thing, if it's put at the service of the nation, as it now can be. And he has shown, as perhaps the most successful Chancellor in our country's history, that he has got the strength and the experience and the judgement to make a great Prime Minister."

An hour later Mr Brown was able for the first time to start to unfold his own personal views about how to tackle the major issues facing Britain.

There was no joy for the Labour Left as the Chancellor explicitly gave his backing to the controversial Private Finance Initiatives in the health service and schools. Mr Brown made it plain that he would continue with the public sector reforms set in place by Mr Blair's Government, and said that he would govern for the whole country rather than the interests of one faction.

He said that the Health Service would be the first focus of his intention in the next few months, and he promised to bring patients and NHS staff together for consultation to find the best way forward.

On Iraq, too, Mr Brown indicated that there would be no abrupt change of policy, though he did say that he wanted to place greater emphasis on winning hearts and minds at home and abroad. He said he wanted to help to create jobs and opportunities in the troubled country, to give ordinary Iraqi people a greater stake in their country's stability and security.

"We will listen, and we will learn from what mistakes have been made," he said.

Among the blizzard of ideas and promises, Mr Brown - who seemed nervous at first, racing through his speech - eventually relaxed enough to make a little joke. Asked how many MPs had put their names forward to support his nomination for the leadership, Mr Brown said: "With Tony's endorsement this morning, at least I've got one."

Mr Brown said that he welcomed rival candidates for the election contest. All the current or recently-departed Cabinet members who might have challenged Mr Brown from the centre of the party have however backed off from the contest.

It is by no means clear, moreover, whether either Michael Meacher and John McDonnell, the two likely challengers from the Left of the party, will be able to muster the necessary 45 MPs to endorse their bid for the leadership. A meeting between the two yesterday, which was supposed to resolve which of them would go forward as candidate with the support of the other, in order not to split the protest vote, ended in disagreement.

Whether or not Mr Brown has to fight for the leadership, he will still have spend the next few weeks attending hustings around Britain to set out his ideas for leading the party and the country. In what became the watchword of his speech, he promised that he would spend the time "listening and learning".

Earlier Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, said that she believed the bond between Britain and America would remain strong under Mr Brown, although the bond with Mr Blair had been unique.

"The bonds with Prime Minister Blair have been forged through some of the most difficult times, through the time of 9/11, through the time of the attacks on London, through Afghanistan and Iraq and Northern Ireland, and those are bonds of friendship that come from having been through some of the toughest circumstances," Ms Rice told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

"But Britain and America will always be friends and I know that we will work very, very well with Gordon Brown when he becomes Prime Minister."

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