What an utter load of rubbish. Cameron is quite right and I am sure in line with most sensible British citizens in wanting to keep Brown as far away from any economic decision making ever again as is humanly possible.

This man has done more damage to the UK than any other single person since WW2. The mess we are now in is very largely down to his ridiculous policies whilst Chancellor - with a
complete lack of interest in even balancing a budget when things were going well; selling off our gold at comical levels; creating toothless banking regulation and oversight; throwing money at public services but never demanding accountability...I could go on for hours.

If you want an ex-PM in charge how about John Howard (or Costello, his Treasurer)? They managed to run an economy through the good times with consistent budget surpluses, zero Government debt, sensible/effective banking regulation and less than 5% unemployment. They sound a little more qualified to me.

Cameron is absolutely right; appointing Brown to the IMF would be the ultimate insult to the British people who will be left paying back the debt he landed us with for the next 3 generations, at least.

He would be as good an ambassador for the UK as the ridiculous and hopeless Baroness Ashton he nominated to become EU Foreign Panjandram.

Brown should do the job he is being paid for: Constituency MP for Kirkaldy and their representative in Parliament. In his spare time he can do the charity work he blathered on about.

@Pat

Shouting doesn't make for a point, rather leads to bar room brawls. The New Statesmen doesn't do a happy hour as far as I understand.

With regard to the moving of debt from public to private, it was Gordon Brown and the Labour Party that shifted so much debt under the carpet (off balance sheet through PFI)...the problem is, its bulges...and you still need to pay it off.

Gordon Brown and his Labour cronies are in the best place, opposition, and hopefully for another couple of decades.

Prof Blanchflower, when are you going to stop being a spokesman for Gordon Brown / Ed Balls and start being even a little bit objective?

Gordon Brown spent years wrecking the British economy. Why would anyone want to put him in charge of an international organisation responsible for financial stability?

However I might disagree with other things Cameron espouses, on this I am in complete agreement. Brown's track record alone disqualify him for the role. Other, unkinder souls may play the man -- but once you play his record in office, the impossibility of his appointment is crystal clear. It would devalue the IMF. It is not The House of Lords, and its head needs the nous and sophistication to tackle a much broader global agenda.

The Audacity of Brown is beyond comprehension.

As my friends at NYU say , what are we supposed to do
with this loser who we have to find gainful employment
T.

Brown did more damage to the UK than any other person
apart from Hitler in the last 100 years .

FSA and deregulation = Economic crisis

Meddling in the NHS =20 Billion wasted

PFI = More economic misery that will hinder
the country for decades.

He treated the Armed Forces with utter contempt
while locking us into a disastrous carrier programme we can't
afford thereby depriving the military of much needed
funds to help is Socialist buddies.

He is like a tinpot general who starts a war losses it , hides in
His bunker for the duration then demands a pension
at the end.

A disgrace of a politician who masks his
cold heart in spin about his commitment to Social Justice.

Go away please.

Any economist would have told you that there are peaks and troughs, whenever there is boom theres bound to be a dip but how well you can deal with the 'bust' is the key to successful economy.
http://www.microwaveovensreviews.net/

Another viewpoint on the opposite side to you own:

http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/04/19/why-gordon-brown-cant-r...

The Tories have spent almost a year trying to toxify the Labour brand.

Brown appointed head of the IMF would be dreadful for them politically.

This is about politics and not capability. Sadly.

I can see that his appointment would be blocked by Osborne. And with a compliant press it won't make page 7.

Is this politics or corruption?

(ok, so it's a strawman argument).

Awfully decent type! Not old school tie or Oxbridge calibre, unfortunately. No trust fund either! Dashed shame!

No Competition Policy

@David Blanchflower

Before 2008, the last government borrowed £350Bn (may be you had nothing to do with it).

But what did out kids get for the money?

I hear from an elite that the tack is 'Gordon might not always have taken perfect decisions but he has learned from his experience'.

Supporting national interest or self interest? Its a test of integrity.

"I listened to Gordon Brown's speech at Breton Woods the other day and he had a vision for the global economy, arguing that this is the first great crisis of globalisation. Hence we need global solutions"

Whatever respect I had for David is gone for good.

a)He says he did not know that banking world was interconnected.
b)Says he ended Boom and Bust
c) Sold Gold.
d) Stupidly gave away trillions of dollars (by his own admission, he was responsible for Global Program) to all the bankers and converted Private debt into Public Debt.

----Now bankers are merrily paying themselves bonuses they say they deserve.

Only shameless Bankers and Socialists can spend other people's money in ponzi schemes. That too shamelessly

And only Bankers and Socialists claim they are experts and godlike even after being spectacularly wrong each time.(remember Goldman? No?)

David you guys know no shame.

Notice how one public purse parasite endorses the appointment of another!

Bush II, Blair and other war criminals are running around free and getting rich. The Iraq Inquiry was a farce, and Blair knew it would be. Labour, the Tories and the New Dems will never hold Blair accountable for anything because they're terrified of his power.

If Blair was prosecuted and went to jail, what would all of the pundits write about then? It would the end of yet another industry.

Those who may have missed, http://business.globaltimes.cn/china-economy/2011-04/643747.html.

In 5 years that is China would be making 55 airports.

a) China and rest of the world has started consumption in big way.
b) BRIC held a meeting couple of week back to work out an alternative barter system which will act as means of replacing dollar as defacto world currency.
c) Sterling is in any case not a world currency by any strech of imagination

If the socialist psychopath who insist on running the ponzi scheme of deficit and printing press to eternity in the belief that there is no alternative to dollar/ sterling; its time to be kicked in their arses till such time they get some sense.

I just hope there are more intelligent people in this country that parasites such as David and Brown.

@ang

Indeed China is the issuer of the Credit Card and BRIC holds parts of Chinese Game.

Britain would be fully trapped if it were to assume there is no credit limit to this card.

If you do not understand this, it may be because you, like Brown and David are unemploable P45 candidates.

Register with Jobseekers now.

Some people have very short memories. The man was a complete ecomonic disaster. So why should he be any different elsewhere.

@ang

The global recession merely stopped Gordon Brown from blowing any more money on his clueless reengineering agenda.
In economics there is a delay between the decision to implement macro decisions, market reaction and their effect on the economy. Gordon’s steroid injection of cash can be seen in its finest in the US where this policy is now coming unstuck.
The fake growth in the economy last year was due to the Labour Party spending the next couple of generation’s money on pet projects ahead of the election. That thankfully didn’t work for Labour.
Government is ultimately just a larger version of an individual household. If the household overspends and cannot afford to pay their way, they need to cut back on spending until they can manage their affairs. The Conservative Party understand this and are working towards economic health.

The British people are not stupid, they recognise what Gordon Brown, his acolyte Ed Balls and the Labour Party have done to Britain.

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David Blanchflower - you're an idiot you couldn't have written a more biased account. I would respect you abit more if you gave us an unbaised view.

Simple fact is (and even you can't deny this)... Britain was BRANKRUPT! when the coalition took over what did their treasury put on a post it? something along the lines of 'good luck cos there is no money' great way to start a new government. The only solution to the problem for the Labour party was... lets borrow more money to invest on businesses and hopefully the economy will recover enough for us to pay back the biggest debt ever. They had 10 years to save money and reform the UK.

Any economist would have told you that there are peaks and troughs, whenever there is boom theres bound to be a dip but how well you can deal with the 'bust' is the key to successful economy.

So now we see a recession in which Britain really is fecked up due to the economic incompetence of GB and his bunch of yes men, Balls and Eddy and I would say Britain is better off without him.

Let him play the 'I admit it' card because in reality he only meant it partially just like Ed Balls did.

I don't care if the person taking the job is British or not, I don't even care if the person is Labour or not. We all care whether the person taking over is competent with a good record. Gordon Brown isn't it.

The gravy train will have to be held in a siding until the election has passed. Perhaps they fear GB would not be the neo-lib poster boy he once was, perhaps he might have tried to redeem himself. Fire-brand, ready to rebuild the IMF from the ground up with a radical progressive agenda? When his political career was on the line Brown showed he had the courage to carry on blindly on the same course. I am sure that is why the IMF like him so much.

Brazil are a massive future economy. Just visiting Sao Paulo, it's easy to see where future growth lies.

Brown bailed out a load of unregulated bankers he always championed. Nothing inspiring about that. He's old politics. We need change. He's too tarnished with his old boy network of bankers to be objective.

Completely agree with the article. I suspect Cameron would be happier with Blair as EU president than Brown bring his chauffer.

Brown is not well liked at home, especially out with Scotland, Labour and small areas of the press. But he has an enormous following abroad. Well respected by the French and Germany and also liked by the Americans, especially those in economic circles. Why should the Cameron government stop the man who wants robin hood taxes, a fairer deal for the third world and a better global deal to boost the world economy. All things Brown has campaigned for when in office and more vocally out of it, at least in the few things he has written and been quoted in.

Best man for the job. It's a clear sign the salesman and his carpet maker mate are still unsure and feel that we are not out of danger yet and Brown in any influential post is a threat to their plans or at least a worry.

Mr. Blanchflower you are so right.
Cameron's whole political career depends on Gordon Brown 'being seen' as incompetent and without this Cameron is nothing.
I can imagine Osbornes' knees shaking at just the thought of Brown in this position, as it would expose him and his PM as the pair of pricks that they really are.
I don't understand how a veto by Cameron alone, could prevent Gordon from getting the job he deserves?