What will Gordon Brown do as PM of the UK?

[Elendil_s_Heir]

@yojimbo

If he follows through with what Struan has just posted then that looks like a bloody good start to me.

I agree. Brown also lacks, from all I’ve read, Blair’s diplomatic skills, so I wouldn’t expect any successes such as Blair had in Northern Ireland, the Balkans, or landing the Olympics for London. But I’m certainly willing to be proven wrong.

[Baron_Greenback]

@BrainGlutton

What I don’t see on that list is anything about Iraq.

Will he pull British forces out of Iraq?

To be honest that’s just a minor tactical matter in the grand scheme.

Brown is proposing a bit (lot?) of rebalancing in our constitutional arrangements back towards Parliament and away from the Executive (ie the PM). This seems a bit of an echo of his first act as Chancellor in 1997 (which was to take out of political control the setting of interest rates).

I think that Parliament as a whole will support most of this agenda.

One thing that I think should have been addressed is the West Lothian Question, but that seems to be for another day.

[Baron_Greenback]

@Elendil's Heir

I agree. Brown also lacks, from all I’ve read, Blair’s diplomatic skills, so I wouldn’t expect any successes such as Blair had in Northern Ireland, the Balkans, or landing the Olympics for London. But I’m certainly willing to be proven wrong.

What are you agreeing with? And Brown also lacks? Tell us.

[Elendil_s_Heir]

@Struan

What are you agreeing with? And Brown also lacks? Tell us.

I agree that the proposed constitutional changes, outlined above, will be a good start. Brown lacks, from what I’ve read, Blair’s diplomatic skills. Sorry my post wasn’t clearer. Or am I being whooshed?

[Busy_Scissors]

@glee

I think he will try to avoid Blair’s mistakes:

• don’t blindly follow a US invasion e.g. into Iran
• use the UK Cabinet system, not running the country like a Presidency
• stop giving honours for money
• stop taking freebies like foreign holidays
• don’t appoint Prescott to anything

Sadly there aren’t any obvious politicians with talent here.
And things tend to be event-driven, like the new Home Secretary starting on her first day with a car bomb narrowly prevented in London.

The lack of talent in the cabinet is very noticeable - if Gordon fell under the wheels of a bus tomorrow who on earth could step in to fill the breech? You would literally have to call Tony back. Harriet Harman would be out of her depth as deputy head of a high school.

I wonder if it was always like this? The rose-tinted glasses view is that the cabinets of old were filled with people of great vision, substance and character - check out Attlee’s cabinet on his wiki page Maybe politics is not the drawer it once was.