In Praise of Gordon Brown
By Emma.
I haven’t posted since the election as I haven’t really known what to say. There’s so much sound and fury about all the negotiations, and frankly, no one knows a damn thing, I didn’t want to add my lack of knowledge into that swirling pot, and was waiting for cooler times to prevail to write what I thought about it all.
But now something has happened that does deserve comment.
Gordon Brown has announced that he will step down as leader of the Labour Party and make way for an orderly transition. His speech was dignified and statesmanlike and warmly received from all party members – those who supported him and those who felt it was time – or past time – for him to step down.
Gordon Brown has not bee a popular Prime Minister, at least not in the UK. He is far better liked and respected on the international stage, where the work he put in to rescuing us from the abyss of financial meltdown is often recognised. He’s a serious man, perhaps too serious for our times, and he over thought strategic decisions, which often only work when they come quickly and naturally. His instincts were so often right, but his lack of belief in them let him – and us down too often. However, I strongly believe history will be far kinder to Gordon than we are now, and while he has absolutely made the right decision today, he will in time come to be recognised as one of the great politicians of our age, both as Chancellor and as PM. I credit Labour’s focus on poverty reduction – here and abroad – to Gordon, and I believe that he will continue this work in some form or another for the rest of his life.
So for child tax credits, for debt relief, for transforming public services, for the Climate Change Act, for the Marine Act, for making Britain world leader in off-shore wind energy, for the Equalities Act, for Sure Start and the minimum wage and for countless other things that have made our nation so much better and so much fairer, I thank you Gordon from the bottom of my heart.
Tags: coalition agreement, financial crisis, Gordon Brown, poverty reduction
Monday, May 10th 2010 at 20:34
We so agree with all you’ve said. Added to which, it was Gordon Brown who put Labour in a position where, in defiance of all the polls, the Tories could be stopped in their tracks.
Why was this? Could it be that, after months of being told that Brown was unelectable, incompetent and, worse, lacked personality, the electorate eventually used the evidence of their own senses and saw a committed, highly able, credible and deeply ethical human being?
Could it be that we have Gordon Brown to thank for the salvation of our nation from decades of Tory rule? And, if so, how grateful should we be..?