Our conference is a fitting time to say thank you to all those who work so hard for this party. I particularly want to thank Colin Smyth and his excellent team at John Smith House. I would also like to thank Iain Gray, Jim Murphy, our MSPs, Scottish MPs and MEPs, and our Scottish councillors for all they are doing to renew Labour in Scotland.

More than anyone, I want to thank all the members and supporters who give of their time, week-in week-out, and whose support for our party has been steadfast and strong. These are difficult times and, as the financial crisis shows, there are no Scotland-only solutions. But I am confident that together we will come through this downturn and that we can start to build a fairer Scotland and a fairer Britain.

Our task is clear: we face a global financial crisis on a scale that is, as President Obama has said, unprecedented.

And our response is clear too, taking action in three key ways:

First, action to stop the banking system collapsing - so we stepped in to protect savers and mortgage holders not just in the Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS but across the banking sector.

Second, action to stimulate the economy and get the people of Scotland through the downturn by offering help to homeowners and small businesses - so we gave the economy a £20 billion shot in the arm, including a £145 tax cut to basic rate taxpayers and a VAT cut to every household worth on average £275. All of which will give people a helping hand and put money back into the economy.

Third, action to get lending going again - because without fair and proper lending then small businesses cannot work from week to week and families would find it impossible to get on the housing ladder.

This three-pronged approach is now being taken all over the world. From Germany to the USA, countries are putting in place these types of packages. We know that where we act together we achieve more and so, in April, Britain will host a meeting of the G20 where I will be pushing for further coordinated global action. And there is a final challenge too. When we come through the downturn, I believe we need to build a fairer Scotland for the future.

We are focused on the upturn by investing in low carbon, digital and high value added engineering: all things that Scotland excels at. Unlike the Conservatives and the SNP who talk Britain down, we act with confidence in the Scottish people to come through this recession. Unlike our opponents, we have not baulked from tough decisions, nor drifted into isolation. We have learned the lessons from recessions past and we will not write off a generation, as the Conservatives did in the 1980s and 90s, and as the SNP would do today by failing to invest in apprenticeships and skills for the future.

I know that Labour colleagues are working at every level to help our communities, from local councillors, through to MSPs, MPs and MEPs to help people through. Thank you for everything you are doing to prove that Labour is the only party of genuine fairness and to make sure that real help is being delivered on the ground day-by-day. As a country and as a Labour Party we face big challenges, but I am confident we will meet those challenges and deliver a stronger and fairer Scotland for everyone.