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  1. Politics
23 July 2009

Is this the real Gordon Brown?

The Prime Minister is surprisingly fluid and even funny

By Mehdi Hasan

Here is Gordon Brown speaking in Oxford on Tuesday at the annual, invitation-only TED conference in Oxford. Is this the real Gordon Brown?

Downing Street aides are rightly pleased with their boss’s performance – one emailed me this morning to say “it’s an accurate capturing of GB the man and what makes him tick”

Brown, as you can see in the video, is speaking without notes for 17 minutes, and with real passion and energy. The public – rather than a gathering of techies and geeks in Oxford – will have to see far more of this rather appealing side of “GB” in the run-up to next May if he is going to have any chance of clinging onto power.

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Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
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