The following is an edited version of Gordon Brown’s speech in Bournemouth yesterday:

“I am proud to be British. I believe in British values. My father and my mother taught me about family and the great virtues of hard work, doing your duty and always trying to do the right thing. And I have never forgotten my father telling me to “treat everyone equally with respect”.

His optimism led him to find goodness in everyone. My father was a minister of the church, and his favourite story was the parable of the talents because he believed – and I do, too – that each and every one of us has a talent and each and every one of us should be able to use that talent.

And the values I was brought up with are not just what I learnt; they are part of the fabric of the life I have led. Not just where I come from but the experiences that have shaped me.

I attended the local state primary school in Kirkcaldy a few streets from where I lived, then I took the school bus to the local secondary school up the hill. I have school friends I have kept in touch with all my life who have shared the good times and comforted me in the bad times.

Today I have the greatest privilege of all: to have been chosen by them to represent in Parliament the place where we all grew up together. The office where I hold my constituency surgeries is just across the road, a few yards from the house where I lived as a child.

I benefited from great and dedicated teachers and I was fortunate enough to get to university. But as a teenager I saw close friends who might have gone to college or an apprenticeship or to university who never did. I know some could not to afford to stay on at school. For others, their potential had never been nurtured.

When they heard about further education they thought, or their parents thought, it was not for people like them. And the reason I am here – the real reason I am here – is that I want their children and their grandchildren whom I also represent to have all the chances that were not available to my school friends.

That’s the reason I am here: I want the best of chances for all families.

So what first made me want to do something in public service? I don’t recall all the sermons my father preached Sunday after Sunday. But I will never forget these words he left me with: “We must be givers as well as getters.” Put something back. And by doing so, make a difference. And this is my moral compass. This is who I am. I am a conviction politician.

I stand for a Britain where everyone should rise as far as their talents can take them and then the talents of each of us should contribute to the well-being of all. I stand for a Britain where all families who work hard can build a better life for themselves and their children, where every young person who has it in them to study at college or university should not be prevented by money from doing so.

I stand for a Britain where public services exist for the patient, the pupil, the people who are to be served. I stand for a Britain where it is a mark of citizenship that you should learn our language and traditions.

I stand for a Britain where we expect responsibility at every level of society, a Britain that defends its citizens and both punishes crime and prevents it by dealing with the root causes. I stand for a Britain where, because this Earth is on loan to us from future generations, we must all be stewards of the environment.

So I stand for a Britain where we all have obligations to each other and, by fulfilling them, everyone has the chance to make the most of themselves.

My vision of the NHS: an NHS that is both pioneering new cures and personal to you. And why do I believe so strongly in the NHS?

When I was at school it was football, rugby, running, sports: these were what I did all the time and so I was fitter then. But when I was 16, playing for my school rugby team, someone accidentally kicked me near my eyes. And from the age of 16 to 21, I spent a lot of time in hospital as the NHS worked to save my sight.

I learnt that with a simple twist of fate life can change. It was the skills of a surgeon, the care of wonderful nurses, the attention and yes, the love and care of the NHS staff, that managed to save one of my eyes. And it is because of the NHS that I can see the words I read today.

The experiences we live through shape the way we think of the world. Experiences like these have made me the person I am. Sometimes people say I am too serious and I fight too hard, and maybe that’s true. But things don’t always come easy and there are things worth fighting for. Like so many people across this country I have the best of reasons to believe in the life-saving power of the NHS and the liberating power of education – and for making them both the best they can be.

So this is my pledge to the British people: I will not let you down. I will stand up for our schools and our hospitals. I will stand up for British values. I will stand up for a strong Britain. And I will always stand up for you.

Brown’s themes

–– Gordon Brown’s favourite theme of Britishness peppered the text of his speech, with 81 references to Britain. His messages of strength, change and community also cropped up frequently, as did his policy priorities of health, schools and crime.

–– Unusually for a politician there were several references to religion, with allusions to morality, his father’s sermons and his church upbringing, the Bible and citation of the Parable of the Talents

–– Tony Blair, whom Mr Brown would studiously avoid mentioning in speeches during their periods of feuding, was named as he praised his work in the Middle East and achievements in Northern Ireland

–– Although Mr Brown praised the dedication of NHS staff, he made only passing reference to the bravery of British troops serving overseas and mentioned Iraq only once

Buzzwords

Britain/British 81
Talent 17
Aspiration 9
NHS/health 27
School 27
Strong/strength 23
Change 22
Community 16
Crime 7
Rules 3
Tony Blair 3
Bible/biblical 2
Iraq 1
Election 0

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