Brown pledges 'new politics'

London: Gordon Brown yesterday commits himself to a "new politics" and a change in the way that Britain is governed, in a radical personal manifesto for the leadership of the Labour Party.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer believes that the government "still has lessons to learn", more than nine years after Tony Blair entered Downing Street, and must be more accountable to both Parliament and the public.

His comments, in an exclusive interview with The Sunday Telegraph on the eve of the Labour Party conference in Manchester, will be seen as an attack on Blair, with whom he admits to having had "ups and downs".

Only days before the prime minister's farewell conference speech as Labour leader, the Chancellor, still the strong favourite to succeed Blair, would only characterise their relationship as "a pretty effective partnership".

"We need a new way of communicating with the public," he said. "We need, if you like, a new politics, and that means also changing the way we govern.

"It means more accountability both to Parliament and the public. It means more transparency about how decisions are taken. And it means, wherever you can, taking power out of the hands of the executive. . . I've learned a lot from what we've done in the Treasury and there are lessons we can learn for the future government of the country."

The Chancellor's insistence that there are lessons to be learned and his plans for wholesale changes are likely to anger Blair and his supporters as they suggest that Brown believes the Prime Minister has made major errors during his nine years in charge.