Gordon Brown's political career has been built on principle. What he tried to create was a better, fairer and decent society and to his credit things did move in that direction in Labour's early years in power. Even if in later years that promise evaporated, and even though at the end of Labour's period in power some of the most basic measures of unfairness and inequality had widened rather than narrowed, these were failures of policy and errors of judgement rather than failures of intention.
In recent years he came under relentless attack from the right wing media more for his character and personality than for his performance; and being unfairly vilified for things he didn't deserve made it all the more difficult to effectively point out the things he did deserve to be criticized for.
In the end the government he led was poor. It was tired, misguided and complacent. It became defensive, it became draconian. But today is a day to acknowledge and thank Gordon Brown for the thirteen years he has devoted to service in government, for the government the UK is about to get will in all probability be worse.
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I'll join with you in that , MH. He is just about the last decent man left in the Labour Party.
His exit was magnificent - dignified, proud, and rather moving.
He seemed to have lost 10 years, and a huge weight from his shoulders. If he could have been as natural and charming during the election, then Wales and Scotland would not bow be facing another 4 years of English rule! - He even smiled naturally when addressing his party workers! I haven't seen that before!
Harriet is now the LOP. Who cares?
They have to re-create Labour by returning to their traditional, Methodist values (but hopefully, without the God bit!) - and only see Cruddas as having the credentials.
Both the Millibands are tainted by Blair, Alan Johnston is tainted by stupidity ( and that is not snobbishness because he used to be a postman - he just is!)
Harriet Harman is - well - Harriet Harman.
Look out for Peter Vain's hat in the ring tomorrow!
Good things to reflect on - No more of that serpentine son of satan - Mandelson (though I bet he's talking to Cammeron already about what he can do for him!). No more Alastair Cambell. No more Hazel Blears, Tessa Jowell, or any of Blair's Babes!
Alex Salmond has already started making the point about this being an exclusively English stitch up! We should do the same!
And in my view, because our campaign was very lack lustre, and IWJ is so unimpressive, we should be looking for a new leader. Can we wait for Adam? Or what about HMJ, or even better, Elfyn? They both have a much better persona on TV - and let's face it, that is vital in this day and age.
I would also like to mention Plaid's Website, and use of modern on-line technology is about 10 years out of date. The Web site is difficult to navigate, difficult to update (if you are a branch ) and rather old-fashioned in design.
Anyway - Politics in the UK has changed tonight, and I think that the UK has changed! The English will have been scared stiff by the prospect of a Rainbow coalition, as they didn't vote for it, and Scotland and Wales will be horrified by the tory coalition - which we didn't vote for!
I hope this arrangement lasts for long enough to deliver AV, and when that happens, everything changes!
Er...So let me get this right.
He didn't pursue a thoroughly Thatcherite policy of deregulation as Chancellor, granting the BoE independence,overseeing a "light-touch" regulation regime at the Financial Services Authority which led to poor supervision of the banks and the creation of an unsustainable asset price boom?
A boom which in Wales priced thousands of young people out of the housing market, and a bust which has now led to the highest youth unemployment since, er, the Tories in the 1980s?
Excuse me while I take a slightly more jaded view of Broons record...
Draig - many of his policies were disastrous - his raid on my (and your) pension, PPP, or PFI as it is also known,is being reversed by the Uber right wing Boris Johnson! Making the BoE independent was the right thing to do, but stripping it of it's regulatory powers over the banks was wrong, and then to basically castrate those powers before bestowing them on the FSA (which itself had no competence in the wholesale money markets) was wrong.
My point is that almost alone amongst the 'New Labour' lot, (Alan Johnson being a possible fellow traveller) he was motivated only by his core values, and his desire to make life better for the ordinary citizen, and not at all by a desire to do well for himself.
That's what I mean by decent!
Just seen this. Excellent post Draig. I cannot believe what rubbish the rest have written. Even faced with all the evidence of what a disaster he has been for the UK......there are muppets who still think he was a decent and honourable man!? We will be years in paying back the debts he and his ilk have encouraged....both private and public.
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