Where it all went wrong for Brown: he’s addicted to Brownies

This is the third in our series of posts looking at where it all went wrong for Gordon Brown.  The first and second are here and here, respectively.


Assessing Gordon Brown’s biggest mistake is like trying to name Elton John’s worst record. There are so many to choose from. But set aside the strategic blunders – like the bungled election – and you have what I think has proved his undoing: his reliance on dodgy statistics. We call them “Brownies” here in Coffee House – statistics produced using a variety of tactics. Sometimes exaggeration, other times simple concoction. But each of them undermines his best hope of success: portraying himself as a hardworking, no-spin man of the people.

A few weeks ago, when I was in Basra, I heard another example – from Brown’s visit there during Tory party conference last autumn. The military were pleased to see him, and prepared to buy into the idea that he was a dour, but competent man who had no interest in showbiz but would get on with the job.