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Labour Party annual conference: Alistair Darling speech; Alistair Darling speech SOT - But we have our challenges and the past week has thrown quite up a few / It's been difficult / In fact I'm told I've developed a few grey hairs / There was a point when I thought my eyebrows were turning grey as well / But we will come through this because we have built a strong and stable economy / We deal with these challenges from a position of strength / And we do so by taking the right decisions for the long-term interests of our country / And that is exactly how we will continue with confidence based on competence / Tough decisions, sometimes hard ones / Sticking to our principles / Disciplined in our approach / Clear in direction / That strength of purpose has built one of the strongest economies in the world / 10 years of continuous growth / A record not achieved by any other major economy / Not France, not Germany, not Japan, not America / That is a record to be proud of / And everything I do, as we prepare and equip ourselves for change, is built on that stability and underpinned by the values which bring us together / Opportunity for all, Creating new jobs for the future, Fairness for all / Aspiration / we know the people of this country want the very best for their families / So do we / But last week was difficult / Difficult for Northern Rock savers / It was difficult for us all / There are lessons to be learnt -and I will make sure that we make the changes we need to ensure stability / Now lets be clear / No government should ever be in the business of protecting executives who make the wrong call or bad decisions / My job is to protect ordinary savers / So we need to strengthen protection for ordinary savers / To give them confidence ensuring their savings in a bank or building society are guaranteed / We need to be able to separate out ordinary savers money / Paying it out quickly and we need effective regulation in international markets too / Far greater op...