So, what should Gordon do now?

There’s lots of advice for Gordon Brown in today’s papers. Perhaps, the most interesting comes from Matthew Taylor, a key adviser under Blair.

“After waiting a few days to avoid the impression of panic Gordon Brown should do a major interview. In this interview he should announce that he will dedicate his efforts to delivering a very short list of very important outcomes by the spring of 2010. One of these should be about family prosperity and economic stability, one should be about reducing poverty and one or two (but really no more) about key public service indicators. He should say that he wants to be judged on whether he delivers these objectives, and that he is happy to have progress independently audited. The objectives should be achievable but ambitious and above all mean something to ‘ordinary’ people; too easy or opaque and he won’t get any credit. The Prime Minister should freely admit that if he fails to deliver or if the people don’t think these achievements matter he will probably lose. ‘That’s democracy’ he should say with a shrug and a smile.”

Taylor admits that at this stage there’s no guarantee that this would work. But it would, at the least, give Brown some purpose again; one of his big problems in recent weeks is that it is not clear what he is for anymore. Having said that, the tide is flowing so fast in the Tory direction that Brown might no longer be master of his own fate.

PS You can find the piece in The Observer, apologies for the lack of a link but for some reason I can’t make them work this morning.