Soon to be king
The king is not quite dead. Long live the man who's soon to be king. It may not slip off the tongue but that is a summary of the curious and unprecedented constitutional position we're in for the next 39 days. It would not, of course, be considered so odd in many other countries.
Gordon Brown will benefit from the luxury - not granted to any of his predecessors - of weeks to think and plan whilst not having to campaign for the job. His campaign manager - Jack Straw - says it's a welcome constitutional innovation. His close ally and friend Alastair Darling suggests that he would welcome a return to PM's coming and going within a day.
This reflects his frustration that the government's been drifting pretty much ever since last September when Tony Blair publicly announced he'd be gone by the summer.
I suspect that the public will only care if there's a crisis in the next six weeks. This won't stop the Tories trying to make them care and to suggest either that there's disarray or that Gordon Brown should be blamed for any unpopular decision taken in this period. Watch for them to make a fuss about hospital closures.
At the end of "ever so 'umble" Gordon's first week he can feel satisfied that he has proved wrong those who thought he couldn't hack the top job. He's looked authoritative, comfortable and more at ease at himself than in the past.
On the other hand he's neither sparkled nor unveiled a memorable message. The question is can he and will he do it in six weeks time?
I'm 
Comments
Gordon Brown has been criticised for being silent on many issues and not letting the rest of the world (the media) know what he really thinks. Is it possible that for 10 years he has known that when his time comes he will need to appear as something new and different and that the best way to do this was to keep himself out of the limelight until then?
Given that he has had the number 2 job for a decade, and that he is a politician keeping such a low profile would have been an act of extraordinary self-discipline. I don't think that any other politician could manage it - but I have an inkling that heroic asceticism may be up GB's street.
No wonder he can now look more happy, relaxed and natural.
Yes, but what's Blair going to be up to in these long weeks? Signing us up to the EU Constitution?
OK so "umble" gordo looked authoritative,comfortable,at ease etc but has very little charisma.The general feeling now is so what.
He will be PM,and we have no say in it(only the Labour MP's-not even Labour party members have).
The Public probibly feel now it is a non story and we now have until the end of June until Tony goes.Basically the whole politics of the UK is paused.All we will get now is more analysis of either "The Blair years","What he does next",and "what is Gordo Like"????
Welcome to Inertia.
"He's looked authoritative, comfortable and more at ease at himself than in the past."
thats probaly because hes gt 300 Mp's on his power of patronage shaped lead
and tbh have you ever heared an accountant obbbsesed with details ever having "sparkled or unveiled a memorable message."
No,
It's the same old tired Politburo that has ruled for the last 10 years, new teeth, new suit, all spin...no substance.
It's not looking too good:
GB says he welcomes a leadership contest - but then hoovers up all the votes so there cannot be one.
Today he says he wants more openness and trust between Parliament and the public - and it looks like Parliament will be exempted from Freedom of Info. act
Actions speak louder than words
The simple reality is that we actually know little more at the end of this week than we we did a month or even a year ago about GB and his intentions. Why on earth he needs a few more weeks to think about things when he's had years to formulate a philosophy and a strategy is even more puzzling. Unless that is there are no really new big ideas because he's already borrowed all the cash he can to get NewLab this far and he just can't afford anything else.
Actually "coming clean" and ditching a pile of nice sounding but totally dysfunctional NewLab initiatives that have swallowed resources and bloated bureaucracy might actually be the best "Big Thing" that he could do. Then he could focus on fixing a few Core Infrastructure problems like energy generation & wastage, transport capacity etc, and thereby get the economy running much more efficiently. This might eventually allow funding more of the social issue problems like pensions and increasing need for geriatric care which are of increasing importance and impact on our society.
Somehow though I just don't seeehim as that kind of far thinking strategist. He is a master of tactical detail. Trouble is that it just gets more and more difficult keeping all of the alligators fed all of the time when the swamp just goes on getting deeper.
A week is a long time in politics - but he's had 520 weks to tell us the kind of man he is - a control freak who hides from any negative issue who seems to think that complexity simplifies.
Tony Blair was voted to stay for a full term - term's up, call an election Gordon.
How about getting proper democracy in the UK and let the people choose their leader? This would be needed in the name of democracy in particular after Blair has managed to make the post more presidiential. How many people voted for Brown? And how much power has he got? Not a good equation!
There appears to be little concern that our PM to be has had no experience in any cabinet position other than, albeit powerful, Chancellor of the Exchequer. Was this a deliberate ploy by the PM or PM to be?
His first meaningful act is to play Pontius Pilate over exempting MPs from the Freedom of Information Act.
He should be formally censured for this gross dereliction of duty.
How will he have any credibility in seeking transparency, oversight and probity amongst 3rd World Leaders in return for debt relief, continued aid and peacekeeping activities?
He's politically naive if he thinks that this won't be noticed by the electorate and others around the world.
So much for 'listening to the electorate'.........who is he listening to instead?
It appears to me that there is little concern that our next PM has had no experience in Ministerial Office, other than the admittedly senior role as Chancellor. Is this a deliberate ploy by the PM or the PM to be?
Nick,
I agree that the king will soon be dead.
However, Gordon Brown can never be a legitimate king. Since Tony Blair stated that he would serve a *whole* term, and Labour MPs were elected, in part at least, on the basis of this statement, Blair's resignation should be the concluding legitimate action of the current government.
Gordon Brown ticked many of the right intellectual and emotional boxes during Nick Robinson's first major interview with him while his ability to deliver pragmatic and socially sensitive policies remains to be tested. The Conservatives are already lining up a "blizzard of ideas" and the Liberals a "guerrilla war", but this no more than mere wind itself. As much as I'd like Gordon Brown to prove himself fit for purpose, the Conservatives and Liberals would be advised to do the same.
Britain has a negative and backward looking view that doesn’t encourage focus on improvement or tomorrow. It's always finger pointing, and arguing, and complaining. This might not be so bad but against a decline of education, industry, and society, I think, a better quality would be more helpful in Parliament, the media, and everyday life. Talk is very, very cheap. As surely as an infantile wife to be can throw a van over a cliff, this sort of behaviour is not good for the country.
I don't envy Gordon Browns new job. Getting Britain back on track is going to require leadership, policies, and hard work. People are going to nitpick and handwave, stamp their feet, and cry like babies because they're challenged or not given the bag of sweets they demand. If he can muster the insightful, compassionate, relaxed, and energetic qualities to deliver, I'm more than happy to shut up and let the man get on with it. If nothing else, it frees up time to improve myself and my life.
All hail the chief.
They complain when he says nothing, then complain when he talks. They ask for Tony to go for a year then complain when they know the date. And then they ask for an election, even though Churchill, Macmillan, Callaghan and Major didn't call elections when they became PM. The naysayers have always labelled the Blair's style as presidential, but he is not a president, if you want a president then vote for a republic. How many people voted for Brown? I'll tell you Johnathon L, 24,278, in his constituency of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath. We have a parliamentary system in this country, if those who are against Brown wish to unseat him then they have two choices, stand in Kirkcaldy or wait for a general election.
I am sure many would have noticed that I have never seen in pictures Gordon Brown so happy for the past 10 years except ofcause each time he became father.It goes to show that we are going to see a new man peace with himself and the people around him let alone the rest of the world, not the picture painted by a retired civil servant few weeks ago.To borrow a quote from Tony Blair,to be PM of the greatest nations on earth one has to be really blessed and wish him well for it last for several years well into the labour's 4th term and not few years from now.
Control freak in waiting.
Gordon Brown is expected to recall his former private secretary who serves as as an executive director at both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to head his own Downing Street team.
In a blatantly arrogant move that will only lead to further accusations of both cronyism and control freakery Mr Brown is set to appoint Tom Scholar as his Chief of Staff.
"At the end of 'ever so 'umble' Gordon's first week he can feel satisfied that he has proved wrong those who thought he couldn't hack the top job"
Quite frankly, Nick, I'm dismayed that you could possibly write such an appraisal. What on earth does a week of choreographed, stage-managed oratorical performances, surrounded by minders, with no awkward or meaningful decisions to make, say about Mr Brown's capacity successfully to carry out the requirements of being Prime Minister. I'll tell you, and I'm sure you won't disagree - absolutely and precisely nothing.
So why on earth did you put your name to an assertion that it did?
The "west lothian question"? Sorry, I had to ask because its not going to go away. Is it?
I think that anyone who has read George Orwell's Animal Farm must be thinking that he was really writing about the 'New Labour' project.
Newsnight is currently running a 'Brown Nose' award for acts of nauseating sycophancy towards Gordon Brown. Your in the running Nick!
I may be wrong, but I keep hearing about Gordon Brown's monumental decision to make the Bank of England independent.
Was it not the case that if we were going to join the EU currency, as Tony Blair wanted, making the Bank of England independent was a necessary part of this process and not one of Gordon Brown's great ideas.
I think that Gordon Brown's style is a lot more like the old 'statesman' figure than his counterparts.
This 'trust me Tony' while I stab you in the back by importing Napoleonic and bureaucratic processes from the mainland - is for me what has lead to much of today's disenfranchisement.
A country needs strong leadership (in a fatherly sense) and I believe that Brown carves the right figure for this.
Good luck wishes from me.
oh so will we all get consultants to deliver our babies like gordon did? or will we get 3% of a shared midwife and no pain relief a la panorama? in the nhs
will gordons kids go to the local comp? or to a rather special state school a la blair?
the nhs is dead
long live the tax cut that lets us keep the money and force the poor hospitals bend to the will of the patients instead of the other way around
modern consumerism is the only real democracy we have and the sooner it comes to the health business the better
gordon has no idea how to empower modern consumers in health or education and build in incentives for continual improvement, cos hes stuck with the old stalinist ideas of the rest of even newer labour
and meanwhile our kids are stuck with a sink comprehensive if you cannot afford half a millions quid for a house in a nice catchment area, and your stuffed if you cannot afford medical insurance unless you happen to be an mp
lets ask dennis skinner how long the queue for his heart treatment would have been if he wernt an mp? see if he has ANY idea how poor the nhs is for the ordinary people
You get a flavour of Gordon from the above comments, which are based on people's real experience.
Brown has'nt been that stealthy in picking the people's pockets all these years.
The goose has noticed that it has been plucked.
However, if you want a real insight into Browns character, then I'd suggest reading Tom Bowers biog.
It makes very disturbing reading, you'd almost want Tony back.
Yes, it is that bad and leopards do not change their spots.
PS. Nick should know that even experienced hacks can get 'taken in' by skillful politicians.
Hacks Anthony Howard and the late Lynda Lee-Potter never forgave themselves for being 'duped' by the young PM Tony Blair.
Come on Nick, learn from your esteemed collegues and don't swallow and/or relay Brownian garbage to us punters.
This man does not do as he says. He's given implicit support to the MP's exepmtion on the Freedom of Information act, and with all the Labour MPs scared of marginalising themselves by having to publically nominate a competitor, prevented a leadership election - even with a rank outsider.
What kind of open and honest party needs to publically know the nominations of every one of it's MPs, and why did Gordon's camp not stop at 45 and at least allow the possibility of a contest.
The good news is that Labour is becoming marginalised in Scotland and Wales, and in the English local authorities. Hopefully they'll either start being open and honest and trustworthy, or relegated into opposition at Westminster too.
Find it amazing that many look back at Major's government with nostalgia, but show's how far we've come.
As always Nick, meaningless nonsense about the Westminster extravaganza that is New Labour and the Brown sucession, bizarrely enough the only thing you thought worth attacking was the fact that the tories may dare to bring up that half of A&Es may close. There is something seriously wrong with your priorities I suggest you take a holiday from the Westminster bubble and contemplate the fact that on a seriously crowded A road the local ambulance may have to now travel double the distance to reach you and then reach an A&E.
Overall, I think everyone has to agree that Tony did OK. It could have been better, but it could have been worse.
Now, after ten years of a Blair government, the country needs someone different. They need someone who can lead America, not follow them.
Step forward Gordon Brown.
Gordon Brown denies that he has Stalinist tendencies then his team put so much pressure on Labour MP's to sign up that 80% of them do.
Stalin would be proud of them, Frank Field was right.
This six weeks interregnum is a farce and in my book, Brown looks distinctly unappealing as he "campaigns" whilst the only candidate. How Soviet! In the meantime, why have no journalists challenged him on immigration policy? Judging from the polls, recent levels of immigration are of the uppermost concern in voters' minds. How can Brown take over without letting us into his thoughts on this most controversial of topics?
Gordon Brown may be 'heroically ascetic', as Rod Millar suggests above.
A less charitable interpretation of his low-profile behaviour is that he has been careful not to get visibly associated with any of the public back-biting or controversial policy decisions of Tony Blair's last term of office. He has cultivated timely absence and/or silence.
I say 'less charitable', because arguably, it is a strategy which has allowed him to maintain the appearance of statesmanship while letting others do the dirty work.
That approach might work for Iago, but will be hard to sustain in the much more public role of Othello...
Gordon Brown is a lame duck prime minister because of his complicity in the Iraq disaster and the unfolding truths of his economic mismanagement. It's not going to take him six weeks to realise that Blair's unpopularity has been passed to him and grossly amplified in the process. In fact I think he knows it all too well already.
If he was as smart as everyone claims, he'd call an election and might just win. As it is, he's playing dumb all the way to defeat, whenever he finally goes to the polls. It's not going to be at all pleasant for him or us.
I do wonder who people would choose as their PM if they had a completely free choice. It seems like no-one is suitable. TB is too presidential and supposedly you cannot believe a word he says since it is always wrapped up in spin. Then, on the other hand, there's GB, who's shown real substance with his grasp of the economy and who seems incapable of spinning anything perfectly.
I think GB is likely to be quite different in style but probably not in substance. It would be hard to argue that he won't be a `safe pair of hands', which is perhaps what we need now. Nothing too radical.
I think it will prove to be a big mistake that so many MPs signed up to Gordon and John McDonnell not getting sufficient numbers for a challenge.
It was noticeable how left leaning MPs said, say and do one thing and yet when push comes to shove, voted for the establishment figure.
MPs have picked the next Prime Minister and the membership don't count.
No mandate from the people.
No credibility and nobody to answer to.
The Deputy race is all about how the membership should and will be consulted at all times.They are having a laugh.
Big mistake.
Authoritative? Brown? Nick, let's get this straight. Outside of the Westminster village 'authoritative' means a bit more than 'can walk and talk at the same time'. It means the man has a clear span of comfort and range of interests that go a little beyond the scheduling of fuel escalator changes 2007-09. And on that range and span question, the jury is still out.
I am already fed up to the back teeth with the ´óÏó´«Ã½ using Gordon Brown stories towards the top of their bulletins. As yet nothing of any importance has happened. TB is still in charge, and is carrying on in his usual presidential style. Meantime, GB tries to look more important than he currently is.
I would prefer to see a bit more government, and an attempt to respond to the real concerns of voters - such as reductions in crime, bureacracy, tax / spend, and greater controls on our borders. Unfortunately, all we are going to get at the end of the process is much more of the same with TB trying to tie GBs hands on the EU and the Iraq war. What more can we expect, after all TB would do it all again if he had the chance. Plus ca change as they sometimes say in Islington and the Beeb.
Why are some people so bothered by the wait? Can someone please tell me what is so urgent that needs to be done by Brown that Blair cannot currently work on?
I was talking to some university lecturers from Viginia over the weekend and they could not understand how after Tony Blair got on so well with Bill Clinton that he swung to the right with George W Bush.
I explalained that British Prime Ministers have to respect the special relationship with the USA unlike France.
Their commement was that British Prime Ministers have to put up with whoever is in The White House.
If Tony Blair had not bowed down to George W Bush he would have faced critcism for many quarters.
It will be interesting to see how Gordon Brown turns a hopeless relationship into a hopeful one.
Is Tony actually going to be able to do anything in the next 5 weeks or so? Supposing he wanted an issue raised or a bill passed, what authority does he have to do it, especially if Gordon disagrees?
Can't he have the next few weeks as holiday and let Gordon get on with the job that apparently everyone wants him to have, now?