Good things Gordon’s done - A list.

Well it looks almost certain that Labour will lose the next general election, probably due to take place in 2010, the latest date it could take place.

With two years left, many people advocate that Gordon Brown go down with all guns blazing, reveal his true socialist roots and try to bed in as many policies as possible that the Tories, should they get in, would be unable to reverse.

I tend to agree with such advice myself and given the current media hatred pouring towards Brown on a daily basis now, I decide to create a separate page to list some of the things he’s done since coming to power that I think have been worthwhile, as quite often they go unreported or dismissed or simply not given the credit I think they’re deserving of.

I’m not going to go into all the things he, and the government, have done wrong, that’s not the point of the list. I just want to focus on some of the good things that he’s done in a list I can add to (hopefully regularly) as time goes on.

EDIT: I should also add I cover the general policies of his government here, as well as things he’s personally championed or pushed through.

So here goes and in no particular order:

1. He’s banning cluster bombs, which have been used as recently as 2003 and 2005.
2. He personally signed away his right to claim his pension before the age of 65. Now all future Prime Ministers will have to wait until they are 65 to claim their pension, just like the rest of us. This has cost Gordon Brown up to £250,000.
3. Giving agency workers equal rights to permanent workers after three months. At least where pay is concerned, which the Tories oppose.
4. Giving working parents for children up to the age of 16 the right to request flexible working hours from their employers.
5. Renegotiated with GPs and forced them to agree to extend opening hours of their surgeries so more people can visit their GP on weekends and after work, which the Tories oppose saying they’d let GP’s do it ‘voluntarily’ which is surely not the point - if they are fighting against being forced to do it they’re not going to do it voluntarily.
6. Made the right decision and stood by it with regards abortion, IVF and hybrid embryo’s. Unlike David Cameron he pointedly made no reference to the fact his own son suffers from an illness that could be helped by hybrid embryo’s and instead just referred to the science.
7. Made swimming free for the over 60s with a view to making it free for everyone after the 2012 Olympics.
8. Backed a congestion charge in Manchester for 2013, coupled with over £2 billion of investment in public transport. It’s understandable that congestion charges are not popular with motorists, but the results in London are unquestionable. It’s the only city where public transport use is rising while motor use is falling. This, coupled with an absolutely astounding investment in public transport, could well become a beacon for city transport planning across the country and the globe. It’s a brave act by the government and the Tories opposition to it is typically short sighted. It’s also anti-environmental, further weakening their grasp on the ‘green’ mantle. They may feel it is worthwhile while fuel prices are high, but when in government they will face the same problems this one does about how to deal with congestion, pollution and carbon emissions. Their actions so far are not encouraging.
9. The new NHS Review by the Health Minister Lord Darzai. It’s nailed down the policies for the NHS for the next ten years, meaning the Tories either have to back it, or controversially scrap it. It’s been welcomed by seemingly all the leading charities, who now want to see it implemented. In particular it has been welcomed for focussing on care of the patient, and bringing mental health issues into the mainstream debate on health care.
10. The recent Renewables Policy announcement, which envisaged 4000 offshore wind turbines and 3000 onshore turbines, as well as various other things, such as dedicated biomass forests. Even Greenpeace applauded it as ‘visionary’.
11. His performance at the July 08 G8 summit, where he was personally behind attempts to stop France and Italy watering down aid commitments to Africa and, after showing them pictures of a mutilated opposition supporter, got the G8 to strongly condemn and agree to sanctions on a much larger scale than previously against Zimbabwe and Robert Mugabe.
12. Leaned on Business Secretary John Hutton to force him to legislate against the practise where companies put staff tips towards their minimum wage. Downing Street was also behind the push for agency workers rights from three months instead of six. I’m sure there was an element of practicality about it with Labour in a tight spot over funding from the Unions, but a good deed is a good deed nonetheless.
13. The govt are signing up fully to the UN Child Convention, meaning child migrants and asylum seekers will no longer be able to be locked up without judicial oversight, as was allowed under Major and Blair.
14. Personally intervened to secure the HBOS/Lloyds merger. In an ideal world this wouldn’t have been necessary but the ramifications of HBOS going under were unthinkable and he did the right thing making sure the takeover happened.
15. Free theatre tickets for the under-26. It sounds like a fluffy policy but the effect of being able to go to the theatre or opera when you’re young can have a positive, lasting effect on you. In the long run it can really open your mind and giving young people, who normally might not spend what little they have on a theatre ticket, the chance to go to the theatre I believe is a really worthwhile thing. Art is always an awkward issue because it’s results can’t be quantified, but art is for everyone and this policy pursues that belief.
16. Enshrining in law the commitment to abolish child poverty by 2020. We’re not sure what this means yet but at the very least it ties in all future governments to put in the effort Gordon Brown and this government has, pulling out 600,000 children from a life of poverty. It makes a mockery of the Conservatives ‘aspiration’ to end it.
17. Free computers and internet access for the poorest children. Again, another policy that sounds fluffy and meaningless, but behind it lies the acknowledgement that coming from a family where you can’t even afford a computer then you start at a massive disadvantage against families where children grow up computer literate, going into the jobs market with ready skills to get decent office jobs. The effects of this policy won’t be truly felt for many years, but in the long term it will connect poorer children to the wider world, give them access to massive amounts of information and help them with their homework, but also help them get jobs, hopefully reducing the number of people who are born into an underclass and stay their all their lives, because they’ve never had the opportunity to get the skills needed to get a job in the post-manufacturing jobs markets.