5 highlights

1 Tony Blair, prime minister

“Look at Britain’s cities. A decade ago in decline. Today, for all the problems that remain, thriving waterfronts and canals renewed, business up, unemployment down and slowly, part by part, the regeneration of the inner city under way…The bonds of cohesion have been loosened. They cannot be tied again the same way. But, in a different way they can… I believe three things work. First, a radical extension of summary powers to police and local authorities to take on the wrong-doers… Second, we need a uniformed presence on the street in every community… Third, give our young people places to go so that they’re off the street.”

2 Gordon Brown, chancellor

“And we will respond in the pre-Budget report to the dream of young couples to own their own homes – with our plan for one million new affordable homes; meet the aspirations of workers who want to have a real stake in their firms with incentives for employee shares; and with the child trust fund ensure that five million children who do not have assets today will, by 2010, have assets of their own, striving for Britain to be a home-owning, share owning, asset owning, wealth owning democracy, not just for some but for all: honouring our party’s constitution – putting power, wealth and opportunity in the hands of the many and not just the few.”

3 Tessa Jowell, culture secretary

“The [Olympic] games will not be just 17 days of sport – but … an opportunity to create a legacy for generations to come, regenerating one of the poorest areas in our country… The Olympic site will create Europe’s largest urban park in over 150 years; three new schools will be built; and affordable housing for thousands of working families after the games are over… We will ensure that the games benefit every part of our country. From the tourists visiting every corner of the UK, to the 45,000 new jobs and 550 new businesses that will be created, and the preparation camps for the visiting teams. We will work with the RDAs, unions and business to maximise the benefits in every region and every community.”

4 Alistair Darling, transport secretary

“Britain now has the fastest growing railway anywhere in Europe. Over a billion passengers carried last year… Since the last conference, we have taken back strategic direction of the railways. Track and train companies are working together as they should in the public interest – backed by record investment – on the West Coast Main Line for example… But we need now to plan for the future. We want to see more people travel by train. So we need to build its capacity. In two years’ time Britain will have its high-speed rail link, between Continental Europe and London, where it can link in to trains to the rest of Europe. We must now look at the benefits of further high-speed lines as well as… other improvements.”

5 Jack McConnell, Scotland’s first minister

“Scotland’s population is projected to decline. But instead of planning for fewer people and decline, we now plan to reverse the trend by attracting new people to live and work in Scotland.”