Interviewing Gordon Brown is a horrible job. He normally regards interviews as speeches with occasional interruptions, and typically he reverts to his lines while his PR man calls up after to say ‘what Gordon meant to say was…’. Yet Sky News team squeezed a fairly decent amount out of Brown in their inteview broadcast at 8pm last night. Plus a new crop of Brownies. Some were slips (‘Fannie Mac’ etc) but the below were, we should believe, deliberate – and should not pass without comment:
1) “In 1997 we came in and… the debt of the United Kingdom was 44% 45% of national income, we cut that and it is now about, I think the figure yesterday was 37% so that is a major cut in debt.” This is – how you say? – untrue. HM Treasury says net debt was 41.3% in 1997-98 Yesterday the ONS said net debt was 43.3%
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in