Hugo Rifkind Hugo Rifkind

To understand Gordon’s ‘Big Tent’, imagine its inhabitants trying to put a tent up

Why does Gordon Brown have a ‘big tent’?

issue 22 September 2007

Why does Gordon Brown have a ‘big tent’?

Why does Gordon Brown have a ‘big tent’? Why, to be pertinent, does he have a ‘tent’ at all? There must have been leaders, throughout world history, who have ruled calmly and inclusively and by consensus. Yet if we were to group these people together on a Venn diagram, in their own little circle, surely this circle would not interlock extensively with the one representing ‘people who ruled from tents’.

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