Prime Minister Gordon Brown's New year Message; Extracts

Comments from the text the PM is expected to deliver tomorrow;

“As we enter a new decade, I will continue to do what is necessary to protect and improve this great country in the interests of all the people of Britain”.

On Britain, and the British people

“In my life, I have learnt that there are only really two kinds of people. Those who think things can never change, and those who believe they have to.... And I think the vast majority of British people are in the second camp. We are a nation that combines responsibility with fairness, compassion with aspiration - always reaching higher, dreaming bigger, aiming for ever greater things”.

On our economic future

“There are some who say we must plan for a decade of austerity and unfairness where the majority lose out while the privileged few protect themselves. I believe we can create a decade of shared prosperity – with opportunities fairly shared among all those who work hard and play by the rules”.

“We can be incredibly proud that Britain’s dynamic entrepreneurs have defied the recession to start up nearly half a million new businesses. There are now 3 million British businesses – more than at any point since records began in the 1980s, and fewer businesses closed in 2009, than in 2008”.

“And I am confident that, if we continue with the tough decisions we have made, unemployment will start to drop this year, and more small businesses will open and flourish”.

“That wasn’t inevitable; it was the change we chose. And so my message today is simple: don’t wreck the recovery. The recovery is still fragile, and it needs to be nurtured in the interests of those who were hit hardest by the recession – the people on middle and modest incomes who don’t want any special favours – they simply want a bit of help to own their own home, set up their own business, and give their children the best start in life”.

On priorities for 2010

“And so let me talk to you about my key priorities for the coming year – about how we will secure the recovery and make the new decisions of this new decade.

My first priority is securing the recovery while cutting the deficit in a sensible and fair way.

The second is radical reform of our public services while protecting frontline spending on schools, hospitals and the police.

The third is a new, cleaned up politics.

And the fourth is maintaining Britain’s global strength and fulfilling our responsibilities against the terrorist threat from Afghanistan and the wider world.

Britain is too great a country with so much potential - and people with such high aspirations - that in the coming decade we must not settle for anything less than big ambitions.

We are determined to reduce the deficit at a responsible pace, without choking off the recovery or damaging the frontline services the mainstream majority rely on. And so our strategy is to go for growth, because we want to build our country up not talk Britain down. Later this week we will be publishing the first part of our prosperity plan for a successful, fairer and more responsible Britain: a plan detailing how we will invest in the industries and jobs of the future. From high speed rail to aerospace to the digital economy to clean energy to advanced manufacturing, 2010 is when we will really get Britain moving forward again”.