After yesterday's long awaited farewell and the flood of era-ending analysis, we have now moved into new territory, unchartered waters, the land of Gordon, the age of Brown. He has had approximately 13 years to make this speech and you cannot doubt his intent by the following statement: "I want to build a shared national consensus for a programme of constitutional reform that strengthens the accountability of all who hold power; that is clear about the rights and responsibilities of being a citizen in Britain today; that defends the union and is vigilant about ensuring that the hard won liberties of the individual, for which Britain has for centuries been renowned round the world, are at all times upheld without relenting in our attack on terrorism." His opening gambit in Knebworth was overshadowed (literally) by a misplaced autocue screen. But maybe this was deliberate, we have had far too much presentation in the last decade and Cameron has the same obsession. The image isn't important, it is the substance and this organizational blunder has inadvertently highlighted this. The second major speech of the day included a few Nixon and Reagan jokes, maybe created a bit of early distance with Republicanism? Opinion polls on tonight's Newsnight show him a fair way behind Cameron, but having played second best to Blair for so long, and having an obviously lower media profile has meant that the electorate just don't have an informed view of him, even though he has been the country's number 2 for 10 years. There won't be a snap election so Brown has a free run for the next few years to change those views - or not.
1 comment:
So far so good, nothing better than a good old fashioned coronation or is that purge.
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