Gordon Brown is/was supposedly and excellent MP, better than Blair most say. The problem is that as PM you really do need to have a smidgen of charisma.
No knowledge here - just aware how difficult it all is. Your post is absolutely correct, it's how it must be, but just saying it is difficult to see how it will work.
I fail to see with how voting NO reflects a failure to believe in Scotland. It is just believing in a different Scotland to the blinkered nationalism of the SNP. I'm not going to be drawn into another argument with you because this is clearly not the time.
Gordon was unlucky that the financial crisis coincided with his term as PM and he will always be asscoiated with it. He was lied to by Blair (as were we all ) and carried a lot hate because of that. Blair was PR for Brown's policies and got an inflated view of his skills. Charisma is important, but so is intellect and gravitas and Brown had bucket loads more of it than Blair. Seems the No campaign have reason to be grateful to him
That little sobriquet in parentheses is a direct quote from one of his own shadow cabinet, who mysteriously chose to remain anonymous. I don't doubt his intellect, however I do doubt his electability.
This is what surprises me most, I just ask myself how can anyone NOT see that voting against your own Independence is a failure of confidence. It's like a child that never grows up and doesn't want to leave home. If you accept that Scotland is a country (and clearly not all do) then turning down the chance for Independence is very sad indeed. I will cling to the knowledge that we were very close and the 45% will not go away. This debate will have made many in the UK consider the realities of what this UK is about and hopefully the debate will continue UK wide. As more austerity kicks in, more will have reason to regret this result.
Totally. But i think Brown would have come out of that mess a hell of a lot better if he'd had Blair's charisma, or even some charisma. As it was its easy for the simple man on the street to hate on him because there isn't a lot to like. Its not easy to see Brown's intelligence, which is one of the main things we should be looking for in someone who is gonna run the country.
Labour are in need of a strong leader, but with that they have to have Charisma. How someone delivers their words is what makes you a popular leader, not being intelligent to the point you expect respect for having greater intelligence and thats why I could never see Brown being a popular choice, as he just doesn't have the personality that allows his words to be listened to and win backers. This campaign has been won for sometime, as the people who won the campaign where the "silent majority" and these people didn't need the words of Brown or Cameron to win them over, just enforce their own views but I doubt Brown helped win over many supporters as in the end the vote wasn't close.
There's no chance labour are going to win the next election with mr Wallace and Gromit at the helm. He may be a very clever man but he's a totally lightweight politician. His brother would of been far better for labours image and people could see him in a PM role. Charisma might not be the be all and end all, but without it you can't lead effectively in the role of PM.
Anyway, I remember RDBD pointing out mistakes Brown had made and what happened to his intelligence or judgement when he did have power? its not just intelligence, its making the right judgement and Brown IMO has to prove he can make the right judgement when he has power, not just make passionate speeches when hes on the sidelines trying to remind everyone he still has a voice.
"Gordon was unlucky that the financial crisis coincided with his term as PM and he will always be asscoiated with it." Trousers Brown created the economic climate in the UK that meant there would be a reckoning when the recession came ( "no return to boom and bust" ) . Nemesis merely decided that he should be PM when that reckoning came, He also IMHO showed cowardice when in 2007 there seemed to be sufficient goodwill to re-elect Labour as the govt (now they had got rid of Blair) .
You could equally make the same argument, if the UK voted against leaving the European Union, something which most in the YES camp are vehemently against. As a member of the EU the UK is not independent, it doesn't make it any less 'the UK', and rejecting an EU exit wouldn't reflect a crisis of British confidence - rather a conscious decision that it is stronger without absolute power over its destiny but with the various benefits which go with that.
I think Brown showed charisma in the latter stages of the campaign period to be fair to him but whether he can transfer that charisma to other fields, particularly in a political arena where his reputation as a politician and leader remains much maligned (fairly or unfairly) I'm really not sure. For what its worth as a young English voter, none of the big 3 party leaders inspire a whole load of confidence. Milliband often comes across as a man with poor charisma and as a poor leader, Clegg has betrayed a generation of students and although he is far from being the only guilty man in that regard, he is badly tainted by that and other key issues, and Cameron is probably the best of a bad bunch IMO. I'm probably in a minority in my demographic, well certainly in the people I know and from interacting on social media at any rate, in thinking that Farage's UKIP have SOME merits (I am a long long way with agreeing with everything that they say, believe me!) but I don't think they in themselves are the answer, although their rise to prominence recently displays that many are worried about some key issues that it would perhaps benefit some of the big 3 to take a harder line on. The next General Election will be my first as a voter and I'm fascinated to see how it pans out, although as I'm currently living at home in what is probably one of the safest Tory seats in the country I doubt my individual vote will matter all that much. Oh well...
I sincerely hope that Labour are trounced in Scotland. They above all others are who I hold responsible for the lack of opposition to the Tories. Glasgow remember did vote for Independence and Glasgow is (or was) Labour's heartland in Scotland. The New Labour Party backed No it's supporters en masse voted YES, something has to give. The UK badly needs a new left of centre party to restore any semblance of democracy. Post Blair Labour is just Tory-Lite and the Liberals have no credibility whatsoever. UKIP is yet another right wing party. Labour needs to be crushed and made again.
Spot on regarding the leaders. For me Cameron is the best leader in the worst party (of the 3), but i'm not saying he's good. Clegg showed charisma and had the air(?) or a PM during the debates but getting in bed with the Tories has totally ruined him and the Lib Dems for the next election and who knows how much longer. David Milliband would make a good leader and PM, whoever said that was right too (sorry, too lazy to look)
In that case for your parallel to work we need to hand over control of our tax raising powers and all other financial affairs to the EU, we need to hand over our defence to the EU, and we need to send them ALL our revenues and Brussels will decide what they send back to us as a grant. It's not the same is it!
"For what its worth as a young English voter, none of the big 3 party leaders inspire a whole load of confidence." They are "career" politicians. Study some politics-based subject in academia, come straight out into a job in politics. No longer with a prior proper day job, nor entering politics at the grass-roots (local councillor etc) . And often from a comparatively privileged background (private school education etc) . Add that to a society that seems to increasingly look only at the facade, demand instant gratification and take everything / give nothing in life, and you really do get the government you deserve.
"The UK badly needs a new left of centre party to restore any semblance of democracy." No MPs with the gravitas among the electorate to do another SDP (boy did they mess that up) .
Miliband was chosen because he was deemed to be the most left of the lot. I think what you're expressing is a wider dissatisfaction with the the current political party system throughout the whole of the UK. The fact is that the policies of both the Tories and Labour are drawn up in an attempt to attract the floating voters in the middle, with information drawn from polling, focus groups etc. It's only logical that many of the policies of both parties end up being virtually the same, when they are attempting to attract the same voters. Politics has become less about 'left' or 'right' ideals, and more about winning.
