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yesterday or 10 years ago, every c-span program since 1987. the c-span video library, cables latest gift to america. . . [applause] >> hello, how are you?

hello. hello. thank you. thank you. thank you very much. thank you. thank you, please. thank you very much indeed. thank you very much indeed. it is a wonderful pleasure to be back here in the central constituency, to be with you calling in my -- to be with you all in my spiritual home here. it is wonderful to see the local members of parliament doing such a great job. i remember when he was nothing. [laughter] i am having a little difficulty with the geography, but life was different for canada its when phil was where i am standing --

four candidates -- for a candidate when the bill was where i was standing. one thing you never did was interrupt the bingo. someone asked me, when do you want to speak? i said, let's just stop the bingo. [laughter] i had my own little issues when i first came, as john will remember. i do not know if you all remember the bush public in at chilton -- the busch pupb in

chilton. we went in, and it is the kind of bar where you walk in and everything stops. this was in 1993. we went in and ask for a perrier water. [laughter] anyway, it is a wonderful pleasure to be with you. i am going to start off by talking about the government. when i was prime minister, i was known as an optimist. i still am. i am optimistic about britain, its future, and the opportunities the world holds for us, provided we made the right decisions and have the right attitude of mind. the financial crisis does not

diminish this optimism. the way we are coming through the crisis reinforces it. we are not out of the woods yet, but we are on the path out. this did not happen by chance. it happened by choice. if you think back 18 months, think back to the collapse of september to above and eight -- september 2008, in the world was printed on -- was poised on the brink of catastrophe. we were doomed to repeat the collapse of the 1930's. a depression threatened political and economic power. britain, like all other nations, was hit hard by at the crisis. in a deluge, no one stays dry.

but now, we have a budget signalling a return to growth. it is a slow recovery, but a recovery nonetheless. we are now poised not for catastrophe, but for recuperation. here and elsewhere, we need tough actions on the deficit and changes to the way private sector work. all around diplopia -- all around the globe, such a debate is happening on how best to proceed. we cannot neglect the insecurity people now face as a result of the global crisis. many young people and people whose livelihood have been badly hit are feeling anxiety.

but, compared to the fear of what might have been, we have emerged better than anyone predicted. hard decisions lie ahead, undoubtedly. but for the most part, the storm has subsided. this is for a simple reason. the right decisions at the outset of this crisis or taken. government were mobilized. the financial sector was put on emergency support. there was an immediate recognition that decisive action was necessary and urgent. at the moment of peril, the world acted. britain did. that ability to act required experience, judgment, and boldness.

it required leadership, and gordon brown supplied it. [applause] >> since then, gordon has been striving to keep the country movie. -- moving. the issue for the country is very clear. how does britain emerges from deep financial crisis? how do we compete in a new market? how do we reenergize our enterprises with it is eyeing a is with a possibility? this is not just about policy, but about mind set. it is about who gets the future. to understand how the world is changing and can be comfortable

in it. who sees the excitement where others simply see the fear. there are new industries, new jobs. correctly identified, they provide opportunity. we need a to dismiss a mix of government -- we need pay a judicious mix of the government end -- we need a judicious mix of government and policy. now our country has to debate the direction for our future. it is a big thinking -- a big thing to win a fourth term. prior to 1997, labor had never won it two sets of a full terms. now we have a 13.

-- now we have one won three. as time marches on, disappointment accumulate. the public becomes tired of giving the benefit of the doubt. the prospect of change becomes more attractive. as i always used to say when someone told me it was a time for a change in 1997, time for a change begs the question, changed to what exactly? the reason an election that seemed certain to some in its outcome is now in a chart company -- is now in a sharper contention, lies precisely in that question.

instead of focusing on, if i get change, but changed am i getting, -- but changed am i getting -- what change am i getting? on some issues, like racial equality, conservatives have left behind the prejudices of the past, and i welcome that. but when it comes to pick policy issues -- how big policy issues, there is a problem. where are they centered? think of all the phrases you associate with their leadership.

they seem like they have not made up their minds about where they stand. so, the british public has made -- has found it hard to make up its mind about where they stand. what happens after a long time of one party in government? besides the change being attractive, the public puts a question mark over the public -- over the party trying to be the change. what is the change that i am getting? prior to 1997, gordon and i sought to answer the question. we told you we were eight new and aggressive force.

-- we were a new and progressive force. even when we were 20. ahead in at the polls, some of my colleagues would say, let it go now. i would say, no. it was important to reappoint -- to reinforce and repeat the message that we had. we had worked out a second position that was clear and mutually coherent. we advocated a new policy on the economy and on a law and order. we talk about public services. it was a philosophical con sept woven across the whole fabric.

we rewrote the party constitution. we addressed education and northern ireland. there was a manifesto of a new labor. we believed it. we had to define not only our case for government, but the way we would govern. over time, that? they did. it's a it was answered. -- over time, that question faded. it was answered. but the conservative party looks like the old tory party. or, they are not certain which way to go. either is not a good solution. in some ways they have gone right when they should have gone center.

on the economy, they seem to be buffeted this way and that. they are more concerned with where they think the country should be then on where public opinion might be. it is bad enough trying to form an alternative to the mainstream conservatives. that really isn't start -- smart. being at first to goodwill in such a spectacular fashion will not be a good beginning. they are spending vast amounts of political energy and capital, and for what? the feeling i get is that this is always -- this is a sop on

the tory party. what does that say about the tory party? either way, britain will pay the price, as it did before 1997. by the way, no party has ever won an election in britain on an anti-europe platform. on law and order, the tories have opposed stronger anti- terrorism measures. they even want to restrict the use of the dna database. the advanced technology of dna tracking could provide incontrovertible evidence of guilt or indigent -- or innocence. it has been used for extraordinary breakthroughs.

crimes could be solved, and perpetrators brought to book. as the database built, it becomes an invaluable crime fighting tool. it will also be a fierce deterrent, since criminals, particularly rapists and murderers, will know they facing a tracking method. it can actually help prevent abuse of civil liberties, yet the tories opposed it. everywhere you look, where you want certainty, you get confusion. the conservative leader, speaking about his policy a few weeks back cappella said he was

-- a few weeks back, said he was surprised by his supporters taking to the street regarding the national health system. the cabinet member is speaking yesterday -- but cabinet member speaking yesterday to the "wall street journal," which i have to confess to reading these days, and talked about transformational free-market principles being applied to public services you want to impose a change (he wants to impose a change agenda. that is a radical transformation of the status quo. the absolute priority is deficit

reduction. yesterday, a better opportunity became the centerpiece. leave aside for a minute the rights and wrongs of the policies. they are plainly, diametrically opposite. why the confusion? the policy-makers are confused, not just the policies. one set of policies represent what they believe in. the other represent what they think they have to say to win. that is not confusion, actually. that is a strategy, and the british people deserve to have that strategy exposed. [applause]

by contrast, labor has chosen its path. it is mapped out, consistent, solid. it involves a commitment to public services with a strong commitment to reform. it is clear on crime and economic measures. the package is coherent and thought through. there are two other things that are defining. it is knowledge is the difficult choices that lie ahead, but it seeks to make them dealt with fairly. to balance the tough medicine and with compassion. we must help the unemployed, protect pensioners from policy -- from poverty.

we have a new plan to provide a national care service. it seeks to keep britain at together as a nation, but it does something else. it recognizes that we must make these choices in a world whose challenges are increasingly global and whose solutions, therefore, must be global. it is an outward looking, not inward looking planned. we have seen our share of good times for the people and the government, that is for sure. but we must focus on more than just the pledges on our card in 1997. remember how people had to wait 18 months to go to the hospital. now there is a maximum wait of

18 weeks. far fewer are dead from heart disease and cancer. in 1997, half of our schools got their students could care. that has changed, banks to our government. -- thanks to our government. crime, having doubled in the last 40 years, now lower than it ever has been. some of the changes that we delivered would never have happened under the tories. flexible working, paid holidays,

a ban on handguns. in each case, the tories opposed the changes. then there are the things done that defined the spirit of this society we believe in, civil partnership, the human rights act, a boost for culture and art, bringing the olympics to britain in 2012. this has been part of a global vision. one of the charities i have to do work in africa. we are in rwanda, jazeera leone, and it said. -- -- sierra leone and nigeria. we are very proud of the developments we have a maid there.

[applause] our armed forces continue to perform heroically in afghanistan. we have recently seen a huge change in the local economy due in part to british troops. europe is standing up for its own interests, but has recognized us as a valuable partner. gordon brown acted naturally during the financial crisis because he understands it. who gets the future? this is not a matter of age. it is a matter of comprehension.

this is a very important moment in which to exercise the understanding of world leaders. since i have been spending so much time abroad but i can tell you one thing above all else. our world is interdependent. it is changing. power is moving east. all of this is happening fast, faster than you can imagine. the challenge for britain today is not a 20th-century one. our politics cannot afford 20th- century political attitudes. if we are to go forth with energy, drive, compassion, and determination, and above all understanding, then we cannot have a closed mind pyrrhic closed mines would mean that we -- have closed mines.

closed minds would mean that we have failed. i wanted this labor party to be the one to meet the big challenges of the future. i want our leadership to be the one going forward. there is still a great potential for this country. i want our government to be the one that developed it. i believe only a fourth term labor government cannot deliver it. thank you. -- only a fourth term labor government can deliver it. thank you. [applause] >> and britain is widely expected to hold parliamentary elections on may 6th. under their system, an election

must be held once every five years. the last election was made that, 2005. -- was made to fit, 2005 -- was may 5, 2005. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> tomorrow on c-span, a preview of president barack obama's upcoming trip to prague to sign a new messiah of treaty with russia -- in new missile treaty with russia. >> if you have a process where it takes years to get an answer,

and you are bogged down in the court, such as what is threatening our industry right now, that is not good for anybody and it does not let the agency be effective. >> tom tauke talks about how the administration should take a fresh look to communications policy. >> now, the first historian and the senate, who retired last year. he discusses senate history, procedures and personality. this is one hour and 10 minutes. >> during his career, mr. baker served under nine senate majority leaders, five

democrats, four republicans, one of which was senator bob dole. mr. baker and senator dole shared a history together that began in 1987, when they partnered on a project celebrating the bicentennial of the united states senate. senator dole delivered a short historical vignettes highlighting memorable people, customs and defensive associated with the senate. -- and memorable events associated with the senate. these were later compiled and published as the historical almanac of the united states senate. mr. baker's devotion to history is evident. he maintained records, published histories, and kept photographs re