Another Voice

Margarita

So, what's new? Circumstances change and success and failure come in cycles. In the cycle of the bull, journos will be quick to hail the leader as a hero. Comes the bear and he becomes a zero. Nothing personal in all this Gordon, but people who don't know you will be eager to tell you who you are.

andrew tarnowski

As craven a piece of writing as I have seen from a journalist. Mr Parriss admits that for years he and all the rest got Brown completely wrong, and thus reported him. So who's fault was it, says he, now that the truth is out? Well, not theirs, of course, but those around Brown who out of political or personal loyalty protected him. If you can't get it right, Mr Parriss, don't whine about your sources! It's your job to get the right information to the public, and if you fail, have the grace to admit it.
Andrew Tarnowski, Dubai

Alexander Pelling

Someone once observed that the qualities in others that most impress us are the ones we feel ourselves to lack. I am always reminded of this when I think of Mr Brown's books about courage.

EDWARD SYNGE

Atlast a really first class analysis.But didn't Tom Bower suggest this in his "biography"early last year?

Kenneth Perry

Mr Tarnowski is right. Craven indeed. Oh Matthew ,Matthew where art thou? You too have joined the Media Sin Bin.

Bob Trimmer

Brown was being over-praised relative to an unpopular Blair and relative to David Cameron who at that time had caused the Tory Party to virtually disappear in a fog of confusion. Northern Rock announced the arrival of a global credit crunch. Had it happened 6 months earlier it would have been on Tony Blair's watch. Doubtless he would have oozed concern and felt everyone's pain - but would it have been any different? Largely it has been Events, Dear Boy, Events.

simon woodruff

Andrew Tarnowski and Ken Perry - Matthew Parris has actually been alone amongst commentators in never falling for the illusions of Brown's supposed intellect and wisdom and has always thought the cupboard was bare. Check his articles from years ago and then you see that Matthew is the the one commentator who can actually write this article and it not be craven.

David Short

If we are to have a man as prime minister heading a government elected by fewer than 23 per cent of British voters, I prefer Brown to Blair.

The lack of a certain sort of legitimacy is the same.

At least Brown isn't a snout in the trough man.

Richard

"On balance, and on the information available, going back over many years, there was only one reasoned and well-evidenced conclusion anyone could reach about Brown: that he was a politician of tremendous weight and stature with strong personal and moral qualities."

Er, no.

It was very easy indeed to rumble Brown a long time ago if you judged him by his actions rather than by Westminster tittle-tattle. It was obvious by 2000 / 2001 at the latest what Brown was doing to the economy (and to other areas of policy in which he dabbled while Chancellor). Obvious to me at least and, I suspect, to quite a large number of other people. (That's one reason why the present economic crisis does not have me worried sick for my family's security: for years I have been quite clear that real economic trouble was coming and planned accordingly.)

Rather more journalists - especially the so-called political commentators - should spend rather more time engaged in serious empirical reseach and analysis, and rather less time acting as nothing more than glorified gossip columnists. Polly & Co are not really that different from the 3am Girls. But at least the 3am Girls can be amusing.

Needless to say, this doesn't exculpate Balls-Up & Co, just as the utter hopelessness of Sir Ian Blair doesn't exculpate criminal behaviour in London.