Brown struggles through his press conference

Short of having Nick Leeson pledge to sort out banking regulation, it’s hard to think of a less congruous sight than Gordon Brown pledging to sort the financial mess he’s got us all in to. Yet this was the pitch of his press conference today. Standing against a podium saying “fuel, food and finance” he did his best to pose as the Great Helmsman to steer Britain through the choppy waters. Here’s my take:

Ulster. Tom Bradbury from ITN asked him if he can, hand on heart, say that deal was not discussed in his talks with the DUP. Like the impact of the polls on the bottled election, he denied it all. Jon Craig from Sky News put this to him that Sean Woodward, the Northern Ireland Secretary, was seen by many journalists (including yours truly) scurrying around looking for all the world as if he was running all sorts of errands.