From the archive: Labour’s loveless coronation

The radicalism of the “Brown revolution”

On 27 June 2007 Gordon Brown received his “coronation” and became prime minister, having taken over from Tony Blair as leader of the Labour Party unopposed three days earlier. The New Statesman’s political editor, Martin Bright, assessed the radicalism of “the Brown revolution”.

Slowly but relentlessly the Brown revolution is coming. It’s a funny sort of insurrection, characterised by caution and stealth rather than flag-waving and dancing in the streets. But there are already signs that the new era could, potentially, be far more radical than anything Tony Blair thought possible.

The commitment to constitutional reform, announced in the speech with which Gordon Brown launched his leadership campaign, looked to some like a smokescreen to hide the lack of hard policy. The subsequent approach to Lord Ashdown to serve in a “cabinet of all the talents” demonstrated Brown was indeed ready to usher in genuine change in the way we do politics in Britain.

Those around the new Prime Minister are preparing to take a significant step which would mark a paradigm shift in the political culture. A Bill of Rights, enshrining the human rights and social responsibilities of each person under law, would go some way to transforming the relationship between the individual and the state. A further shift in the political landscape is marked by the open discussion over electoral reform, once a no-go area for Labour politicians. After years of resistance, Brown and many of those around him have warmed to the idea, in principle at least, of shaking up the way we vote for those who represent us in parliament.

But those who have worked with a man hardly known for his collegiate manner remain to be convinced. The first stage of the Brown revolution has to begin with the man himself. The process of coronation has been good for him. He visibly relaxed as the day approached. One close friend says there are now signs that the real Gordon Brown is finally emerging: “I’m just happy for him and you can see that he is beginning to enjoy himself. The smile is really his smile now.”

But old habits die hard. Brown and his inner circle have developed a near addiction to conspiracy and paranoia. I had a taste of this when I took the job as the NS political editor. After my first column, which discussed one of David Blunkett’s several misdemeanours, Sky News reported this as a Brownite plot to destabilise one of Blair’s closest allies. However, when I mentioned this conspiracy theory to two ministerial allies of the chancellor at Labour conference days later, they had already convinced themselves they were indeed responsible for the plot against Blunkett. Every political journalist has a similar story to tell.

Many remain to be convinced that a politician who has saved his most intimate political thoughts for a handful of trusted allies and advisers will be prepared to take on board the views of cabinet colleagues, let alone the wider public.

The irony of the present situation, where Brown has wanted to save all announcements for the cabinet and parliament, is that the atmosphere of secrecy has been even more intense. Ahead of the reshuffle, ministers sought out journalists for news. But as one said to me on Monday: “I know they are running a very tight ship and none of us has heard so much as a whisper. But I bet Ed Balls and Douglas Alexander have a pretty good idea of what is going on.”

The leadership “election” has demonstrated that Brown has the ability to reinvent himself. “Reformation” would perhaps be a better word than “revolution” considering Brown’s political roots and Protestant background, but he needs to demonstrate quickly that the era of conspiratorial sofa politics is over. For that, the real transformation will have to come from inside Brown’s head.

This is an edited version of the original story. For the unabridged article visit newstatesman.com/archive

[Further reading: From the archive: Britain and the nuclear bombs]