Gordon Brown 2.0

Water

The way he is saying things is fine. What he's saying is the point of contention.

Artboy

Is he watching a tennis match? Or were the autocue people not told he was going walkabout??

Bernard from Horsham

For once Gordo is semi "on the money" though as usual it missed the target! The shift of poweer is from Labour to Conservative...........

Bean Counter

"There's a story told by Einstein, er, the great physicist..."
Ah, *that* Einstein. I wouldn't say the guy's quite relaxed, but definitely better than usual. He's clearly been out and about in the formerly-dressdown City, too - it's a well known fact that when your job is at risk, it's best to wear a tie.

Ethan Hurlington

My first thought, on seeing this was a comment David Cameron had made about using the trick that Enoch Powell used of not going to the toilet to the speech, which apparently results in a more passionate determined speech. Gordon looks like he has taken this ploy a step too far...

I can see what he (rather his advisors) are trying to do. Get him away from the dour, monotone, stuck behind the lectern, run of the mill speech...'look at Barack Obama, he is ‘cutting edge’, you could do that Gordon! Give it a go!'...but it just doesn't work. For a start, the stage is too small, so he ends up looking more like a captive polar bear, than a relaxed 'new generation' media savvy politician. This is also totally unsuitable for using as a video as the viewer is prone to become seasick. Furthermore, it’s just too transparent, he is trying too hard, it's like the whole 'no tie, unbuttoned shirt, no jacket, just call me Tony, look'...and to be honest, he looks like... a salesman!

Water

Damn right too Bernard ;)

Chuck Unsworth

Frankly I could not bring myself to watch it. This is Gordon Brown In Cabaret - dogs walking on their hind legs comes to mind. In my case whenever Brown appears on my television or in my newspaper I seem to develop instant narcolepsy. I suppose it's the decade of obfuscation, dissimulation and bare-faced lying which has finally destroyed Brown's last vestige of credibility.

He seeks to deceive for ten years - why and how can we believe him now? What means do we have of establishing his bona fides - even if we wished to do so?

pat

Was this a Google do or the Walsall and District Aldi managers conference.

DannyBird

I must say, I think the things he's actually saying about new technology is pretty spot on. Credit (crunch) where credit's due.

Matthew Blott

He is pretty good here but he's in his comfort zone. I don't think this reasonably impressive performance has anything to do with media management - when he's talking business it's not a problem for him. But a modern Prime Minister requires someone able to react to events and step into areas they are not comfortable with and that's where he gets found out.

Trumpeter Lanfried

He's still doing bloody lists: not only ... but also etc., etc.

Not impressed.

Matthew Blott

@ Chuck Unsworth

What was the point of that comment?

Dave B

Can you get a video/audio recording of Mr Cameron's 'living within our means speech'?

mckenzie

Great fantasy: if only.
Reminded me of John Lennon, Imagine.

Fernando

Interesting that when he talked about inflexible markets he mentioned oil and food. Nearer home many would point to healthcare and education, where most of us are presented with state monopolies. Let's bring market forces and consumer choice into those areas. Unfortunately, Gordon has been the main obstacle.

Crown

He reminds me of a blue bottle buzzing backwards and forwards annoying me with its droning.

salieri

Come off it. I admit that Matt's glowing judgement intrigued me to the point of watching this pathetic, sanctimonious and forced performance all the way through. It was as 'confident, relaxed and witty' as a spotty 6th-former's debut in the debating society (complete with the mandatory, ancient and feeble 'joke'). Ethan's analogy with the captive polar bear is brilliant. Give him some more raw fish, for god'sake.

I wonder if public speaking, of which he evidently understands nothing, was still taught at the grammar school which he had the privilege of attending (before helping to abolish it)? He would have floundered even announcing the rota as milk prefect.

Ed H

Got as far as the Einstein joke, which is a plagiarised one.

Still, maybe the audience hadn't heard it before

Perry

Don’t get too excited. It’s called dissociation.

aloicius

There's something very odd aboutthe way Gordon behaves on stage. Check it out: he never looks ahead. He keeps turning his head from left to right and back again ...like watching a tennis match.

Me thinks there were some cleverly hidden teleprompters at the sides...otherwise it does not make sense that he should NEVER squarely face up to his audience.....unless that's how they do things on his planet.

Alf Tupper

Chuck Unsworth.

I think if you take a look at Matthew Blott's comment you'll see how it really should be done.
Certainly changed the way I look at this whole issue. The bloke's an absolute revelation.

chris

Platitudes: Brown could do this in his sleep. Unfortunately it sends me to sleep. I think he'll need a job soon. This would suit him fine, doing the international curcuit, and be a lot more beneicial to the UK.

Frank Pulley

Well, he's found the perfect job for when he gets the boot from No.10 (quite soon with a bit of luck): pissing up the backs of Google geeks and telling them it's golden rain.

Fin

Actually - not a bad performance from The Great Gordo. Intellectually, he started to win me round (nice touch with the no lectern/ notes strategy). Presentationally, a bit too much left and right flanking and a bit too much marching up and down (note to Gordon - when you make a salient point - stand fore square and penetrate an audience member, centre, middle distance with your gaze). Otherwise, my advice to him is to sack his spin doctors and take on Humphreys, Paxman et al "au naturel" - it may do him some good. It would certainly open up the intellectual chasm between him and Cameron.

Alex

Weird hand movements

Ian C

The striking thing about this speech is that the man is clearly in the wrong job - something we have all known for some time. He is on the money on his best subject. The strange thing is why has he been in ploitics during all this time doing all the things on a UK scale that have made it so much more difficult for us to be globalised because he's stuffed us with restrictive EU legisaltion and high taxation? This speech is the ultimate expose of the contradictions in the man - why he looks so miserable when doing what he thinks he has to do as a Labour PM. It explains so much.

Ian C

The striking thing about this speech is that the man is clearly in the wrong job - something we have all known for some time. He is on the money on his best subject. The strange thing is why has he been in ploitics during all this time doing all the things on a UK scale that have made it so much more difficult for us to be globalised because he's stuffed us with restrictive EU legisaltion and high taxation? This speech is the ultimate expose of the contradictions in the man - why he looks so miserable when doing what he thinks he has to do as a Labour PM. It explains so much.

Robert Williams

At 9min into video Brown says "Growth is faltering in America & Europe at the monemt." Last week Eurozone GDP growth in the first quarter rose to 0.7 per cent, up from 0.4 per cent in the previous three months.

Is Brown seeking to hide the UK situation by making the UK & Europe interchangeable terms - when it helps his spin?

Silent Hunter

Artboy:

Yes, I noticed that too!

Has the audience been corralled into two 'pens' either side of the stage.

Or is Gordon just shaking his head very slowly as the Crewe & Nantwich By-election predictions are transferred to him via his ear piece.