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Brown launches Labor leadership bid with “new ideas”

Gordon Brown kicked off his Labour campaign

Gordon Brown kicked off his Labour leadership campaign as Tony Blair finally offered a “full” endorsement.

Speaking to activists in central London, the Chancellor said it would be the "greatest honour" to take charge of the party and offered "new ideas for a new time". "Today I announce that I am a candidate to be leader of the Labour Party and to lead a new government," he said. Earlier, the Prime Minister had set aside their famously turbulent relationship to praise Mr Brown as an "extraordinary and rare talent". "I am absolutely delighted to give my full support to Gordon as the next leader of the Labour Party and as prime minister and to endorse him fully," Mr Blair said at No 10. "I think he has got what it takes to lead the Labour Party and indeed the country with distinction." Mr Brown said: "Tony Blair has led our country for 10 years with distinction, with courage, with passion and with insight and in the weeks and months ahead my task is to show that I have the new ideas, the vision and the experience to earn the trust of the British people. Today there are new priorities and I offer a new leadership for this new time." Mr Brown insisted he welcomed "any other candidate who wants to stand", and would "fight hard" for every single nomination and expression of support. "It would be the greatest honour to be this country's prime minister," he added. Mr Brown continued: "Britain is a great country that in this century can become greater still. And our greatness lies not just in our history, but in the character of our people, our strength, demonstrated again and again, to come together as a community and unite around a shared national purpose. "Let me set out simply my core belief. The Britain I believe in is a Britain of fairness and opportunity for all British citizens. Every British citizen with every chance to make the most of themselves, every community fair to every citizen. If you work hard you are better off, if you save you are rewarded, if you play by the rules we will stand by you. "These are for me the best of British values: responsibilities required in return for rights, fairness not just for some but for all who earn it. US 'will work very well' with BrownAmerican Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said that she expects the US to work "very, very well" with Gordon Brown as Prime Minister. Ms Rice hailed outgoing PM Tony Blair as a tremendous visionary but made clear that she expected the transatlantic relationship to remain "very strong" under his probable successor. Her comments came after US President George Bush hailed Mr Blair as "a good friend" after his announcement on Thursday that he would stand down as PM on June 27. Mr Bush also described the Chancellor as "easy to talk to, a good thinker ... an open and engaging person" and made clear he hoped to work well with him on issues including Iraq. Ms Rice told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "I think the relationship will be very close, in part because Britain and the United States are such key allies. "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. "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."