The Carter clear out continues
James Forsyth 11:22am
Sam Coates flags up an article in PR Week which says that Stephen Carter is looking for a new speechwriter for Gordon Brown and is considering the position of Deborah Mattinson, Brown’s pollster. It seems that the re-Blairisation of Downing Street has now reached such a point that Carter is approaching Blair’s old speechwriters to see if they can be tempted back into the fold which is quite ironic considering how some of those being invited back were hardly Gordon’s biggest fans.
Previous
Comments
Perry
March 28th, 2008 12:17pmPlus ça change . . . . ?
Nicholas
March 28th, 2008 2:04pmJust four words: "deckchairs", "Titanic", "turds" and "polishing".
At the end of the day Brown is no Blair. The fly in the Blairisation ointment.
RW
March 28th, 2008 2:23pmA Downing Street "senior source" allegedly thinks, with regard to the PM's speeches, that "Gordon needs to show a bit more personality". But wouldn't that frighten off even more of the voters? IMHO Brown has the personality and some of the looks of Herman Munster, but without the boyish charm. Not all the spinsters in the world spinning feverishly away could repackage him as the new Blair. Surely best to leave well enough alone.
Oscar Miller
March 28th, 2008 5:05pmIf Blair's old speech writers are brought in, Brown's complete inability to deliver them effectively will only lead to damaging comparisons with his predecessor. After all - nobody disputed that Blair could deliver his lines well, while Brown could massacre the best of speeches - with his monotone, strange pronounciation, odd speech rhythms and dreadful body language. As others have said - this won't work.
Trumpeter Lanfried
March 28th, 2008 5:21pmBrown would be tedious even if he had Demosthenes, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King as his speechwriters. But that's not the problem. The problem is, he's a mendacious little spiv, and it shows.