Brown's national party

Drew

Well frankly, they're welcome to "Land of Hope and Glory" on the Mighty Wurlitzer to end proceedings. We'll know on Wednesday: "The People's Flag is Deepest Red... and erm Deepest White and erm, well deepest Blue as well, obviously...." I'm more intrigued by Brown's dog whistle on immigrants - The Guardian seems not to have heard it (rather like the Late Queen Mother at a Clydeside ship launch) while the Tories can hardly allow attention to wander in so toxically populist a direction. Neat (if nasty).

Tiberius

I was intrigued by James ealier reference to Brown invoking the Bible in his speech. Having now watched the party political broadcast aka BBC 10 o'clock news, I have to say I was sickened by that part of the speech. Janet Daley has argued as eloquently as anyone about the preponderance of spiritual benefit children within a family of married parents enjoy, and also the factual economic deficit presented to lower income married couples with children compared to two equivalent unmarried parents. Well I don't know she will feel, but this part of Brown's speech merely confirms what type of man Brown is. To portray the perfectly legitimate Tory policy of tax breaks for married couples as an act of unchristian evil is just about as low as I have ever known a British politician sink. I certainly count it as a blast, Fraser. As the years go by, I just hope this tormented soul can learn to live with himself.

Perry

The invocation of religion in politics is of course an age-old art. How a Son-Of-The-Manse could do this in such a callow way shows the measure of the person seeking to ‘lead’ (sic) this country, - I believe he did mention the country’s name once or twice but I missed it.

David Lindsay

Is Brown a conservative? The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Mail seem to think so. And (at least in the absence of anything better) quite a lot of their readers will agree at the ballot box, because the Tories are simply no longer the default option in Britain, or even any option for most people: it would just never occur to well over half the electorate to vote Tory. I'm not saying that that's a good thing or a bad thing. It's just a fact. When even Patrick Mercer sees more hope of doing anything politically as a Brown adviser without even being paid, then it really is all over. Together with the Keynes-Beveridge-Attlee Settlement and with all round patriotism (i.e., both southwards and westwards, not to say eastwards as globalisation's erosion of sovereignty really kicks in), moral and social conservatism will be a key plank in the platform of the desperately needed new party. Those three elements all play well to core supporters of all three parties. Do Labour voters want the Euro, or the Iraq War, or the unrestricted immigration, drinking, gambling, drugs, prostitution and pornography all required by the "free" market? Do Tory voters want to abolish farm subsidies or the NHS? For that matter, do they want the Iraq War, or the unrestricted immigration, drinking, gambling, drugs, prostitution and pornography all required by the "free" market? The Lib Dems' strongest support is in rural Scotland, Mid-Wales, and the West Country. And so forth. Britain needs a pro-life, pro-family, pro-worker, anti-war party of economically social-democratic, morally and socially conservative British and Commonwealth patriots who really care about the North and South of Scotland; about North, Mid and West Wales; about Northern Ireland; about the North of England; about the Midlands; about the West Country; about East Anglia; and about the less chi-chi parts of London, the South East, Central Scotland, and South Wales. So let's get on with it!