GORDON Brown recently said that all his heroes demonstrated courage. As an Oxfam supporter and a local campaigner for Hampshire, I would like to urge Mr Brown to be courageous and act to overcome worldwide poverty.

Our new Prime Minister needs to put keeping Britain's promises on increased aid at the top of his to do list. If he does, millions more poor men, women and children could have access to healthcare and education, which will help them get out of the cycle of poverty. He should also reposition the UK at the forefront of the fight for fairer trade rules so that poor countries can benefit from globalisation.

Mr Brown must make sure that under his premiership this country pursues a fair and ethical foreign policy, which doesn't shrink from acting with the UN to protect people threatened by genocide, conflict or human rights abuses, or criticising other governments that fail to do so.

He must also do his bit to respond to the challenge of climate change, and to help those in developing countries that are least responsible but most vulnerable. People Oxfam works with are already suffering more due to extreme weather.

In 2005, campaigners from Hampshire were amongst the millions of people who took to Britain's streets to call for action against poverty. We saw some action in response to our demands but there is much more to do, and we are still watching and waiting. The race against poverty and injustice is a marathon, not a sprint: we are looking to Mr Brown to take up the banner and go further.

ROGER ELBOURNE, Oxfam campaigns officer for Hampshire.