Sometimes it takes a crisis for people to agree that what is obvious and should have been done years ago, can no longer be postponed. We must create a new international financial architecture for the global age.

Think for a moment: what is the British equivalent of the U.S. Fourth of July, or even the French 14th of July for that matter?

So another challenge for our generation is to create global institutions that reflect our ideas of fairness and responsibility, not the ideas that were the basis of the last stage of financial development over these recent years.

My favourite sport at school was rugby. All sports are teamwork, but rugby particularly is about teamwork and I think teamwork is the essence of this.

In the weeks and months ahead, my task is to show I have the new ideas, the vision and the experience to earn the trust of the British people.

I'm a father; that's what matters most. Nothing matters more.

Each year India and China produce four million graduates compared with just over 250,000 in Britain.