A puzzle of ideas and policy: Gordon Brown as prime minister1
- 19 February 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Informa UK Limited in Policy Studies
- Vol. 30 (1), 5-16
- https://doi.org/10.1080/01442870802576124
Abstract
This article argues that Gordon Brown as prime minister is a puzzle of ideas and policy. This observation is most notably supported by his failure to espouse an ideological narrative for his government. Brown the intellectually literate Labour leader has not constructed his idea of the ‘good society’. This in turn has had a negative impact upon the effectiveness of his leadership and the unity of his government. The article highlights the implications of this problem; discusses the nature of Brown's politics through analysing the works of Lee and Hickson; and asserts the virtues of crafting a coherent ideological narrative for government. The article concludes by surveying the prospects of a Brown-led Labour Party in the forthcoming political era – an era which is likely to be one dominated by the Conservative Party under the leadership of David Cameron.Keywords
This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- Ten Years of New LabourPublished by Springer Science and Business Media LLC ,2008
- Reply to Stephen Meredith, ‘Mr Crosland's Nightmare? New Labour and Equality in Historical Perspective’The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 2007