Chancellor spells out moral dimension to poverty fight

Sunday, 3 July 2005 12:00 AM

Chancellor Gordon Brown has described the fight against poverty as "the greatest moral crusade of our times".

Speaking at the Christian Aid rally in Edinburgh on Saturday, he demanded further debt relief and aid for the world's poorest nations.

His words came as 200,000 people marched through the Scottish capital ahead of next week's G8 summit in Gleneagles.

The chancellor praised organisers of the Make Poverty History campaign as "a beacon of hope" for the world.

The group organised the march and the Live 8 concerts around the world.

In a passionate speech at the Church of Scotland assembly hall, Mr Brown said: "We are affirming today that we are of one moral universe and that to tackle the greatest evil of our times, ours must now become the greatest moral crusade of our times."

Attacking the £33 billion a year common agricultural policy as unfair and a curb on helping African countries compete with their richer European counterparts, Mr Brown said: "Let us set a date for the elimination during this decade of wasteful export subsidies."

Last week, he attacked the "hypocrisy" of developed countries that call for trade liberalisation while subsidising their own exports.

In a cautious note and with an eye on the long term, Mr Brown said the G8 summit was not the panacea for the ills of the world and could only do so much.

"This is more than a week's work at the G8. It is a lifetime's work across the world," he said.

He made the case for a re-distributive "New Deal" between the haves and the have-nots of the world.

Following the agreement of the G8 to provide 100 per cent debt relief for 38 countries, Mr Brown pledged that Britain would press world leaders to extend relief to a further 30 poor countries.

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