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![image: [ Jack Straw: attempting to force attention back to policy ]](/olmedia/50000/images/_50143_tough.jpg)
His speech in Norfolk was one of a number of measures ordered by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, to defuse a string of damaging stories.
Mr Straw referred to his own difficulties when he said he had personally discovered government ministers could not escape the impact of events.
His son, William, was recently cautioned by police after selling £10 worth of cannabis to a tabloid reporter.
"Events will come and go and of course the government will face problems along the way. But what distinguishes this government from the last is how we will never lose sight of the long-term project," he said.
Perhaps the most serious 'event' to have deflect attention from the core business of the government was the revelation that the Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, was having an affair with his secretary.
But claims made in a biography that the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, continues to resent Mr Blair usurping him to take the leadership of the party - plus the ongoing row over the offshore trust belonging to the Paymaster General - also kept headlines away from the government's message.
'A government that keeps its promises'
On matters of policy, tobacco sponsorship and the row of single parent benefit cuts have hurt the government's reputation.
In his speech, Mr Straw returned to Labour's election rhetoric, promising all things "new" and equitable.
"Our vision is nothing less than to create New Britain for the new millennium, a decent society which serves all its people and not just the few," he said.
"We are a government that keeps its promises, honours its pledges and governs for all, not just a few.
"It is a sign of how far the cynicism about the political process has spread that these goals now sound ambitious. But that is our mission and that is what we will do.
"That is the Prime Minister's and our historic mission: to restore people's trust in the way they are governed."
Forging a new coalition in politics
Mr Straw told his audience that the Blair administration would not be limited by old divisions in its desire to modernise the United Kingdom.
He said: "Where we can work together with other parties or with people with no party political background we will do so. We are not driven by dogmas but by ideas and pragmatism."
In addition, the government needs to remember the many middle-class voters who had changed their voting habits in the 1997 election.
"Our support is based on a new coalition. It is important to recognise that. New Labour won because it was able to appeal to a wide range of people, not just traditional Labour voters but many others who voted Labour for the first time in May," Mr Straw said.
But as the Home Secretary spoke of unity the Shadow Social Security Secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, was attempting to aggravate an apparent division.
The government, he said, had "broken down into two camps. One is headed by a powerful Prime Minister - Gordon Brown - and the other by a presidential figure, Mr Blair."
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