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SLG
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Polls look black for BrownThis is where Brown was always going to fall down - on the personality battle with Cameron.
| Quote: | Polls look black for Brown as charm falls flat
JAMES KIRKUP POLITICAL EDITOR
GORDON Brown's efforts to rebrand himself as a friendly, inclusive figure were dented yesterday as opinion polls showed most voters have not warmed to him and more senior Labour figures publicly questioned his social skills.
Yesterday's developments have only added to the pressure Mr Brown will be under on Monday when he addresses the Labour Party Conference in Manchester, trying to demonstrate his leadership credentials and allay doubts about his public persona.
The opinion polls published yesterday also underlined Labour's plight, with one indicating that two-thirds of voters believe the party does not deserve to win the next election and another showing seven in ten people now say Labour is as divided as the Tories were under John Major.
Although he remains the overwhelming favourite to succeed Tony Blair next year, many Labour MPs have growing concerns about Mr Brown's ability to defeat David Cameron, the Conservative Party leader, at the next general election.
With the Tories leading Labour in the polls thanks in no small part to Mr Cameron's personal popularity, Mr Brown's inner circle has been trying to soften the Chancellor's image with a PR offensive sometimes known at Westminster as "Project Gordon".
But a Populus poll for the BBC yesterday showed that 60 per cent of people think Mr Brown has failed to make himself appear more "likeable, charismatic and in touch with ordinary people" over the course of the last year, compared to 33 per cent who said his image had improved.
And an ICM/Guardian poll showed that 35 per cent of people think Mr Cameron would make the best prime minister for Britain, ahead of 32 per cent who named Mr Brown.
Asked which of the two men has the most pleasant personality, 52 per cent named Mr Cameron and only 17 per cent said the Chancellor.
Reflecting suggestions that Mr Brown was responsible for recent attempts by Labour MPs to force Mr Blair from office, 35 per cent of people thought Mr Brown was "likely to stab a colleague in the back".
Since an outbreak of Labour infighting earlier this month, several former ministers have cast doubt on Mr Brown's personal suitability to lead a party and a government.
In a BBC radio documentary to be broadcast today, more senior party figures offer critical verdicts on the Chancellor's character.
"He doesn't make friends for the sake of it, and perhaps he'd be a smoother politician if he added to his natural affinities some strategic pleasantries," said Neil Kinnock, the former Labour leader. "He just can't be bothered with engaging in what I call the manners of the court."
And Brian Wilson, a former minister and Scottish Labour MP, told the programme of the "partisan, factionalist coterie" of followers around Mr Brown.
"There is a very rigid 'If you are not for him, then you are against him' mentality," Mr Wilson said, expressing concerns that are privately shared by many serving Labour MPs. "That is a style which has served him reasonably well up until now. Whether it would serve him as a prime minister is another question."
Meanwhile, Ed Balls, perhaps Mr Brown's closest ally, likens the Chancellor's approach to international negotiations to that of Margaret Thatcher, "a tough negotiator who will stand up for Britain's interests, who's willing to say 'no' when 'no' is the right thing to say."
Mr Brown himself sparked criticism in Scotland las week when he declared that he "stands with people like Mrs Thatcher" in defence of the Union.
As well as testing Mr Brown, the Labour gathering in Manchester, which begins tomorrow, will also be a showcase for the various MPs hoping to succeed John Prescott as Labour's deputy leader.
At least seven serving ministers are currently considering running for the post, even though Mr Prescott has not yet confirmed that he will step down at the same time as Mr Blair next year.
Both Mr Blair and Mr Prescott have expressed exasperation at the public campaigning of several hopefuls, and Hazel Blears, the party chairman, yesterday called on ministers to focus on polices.
But such appeals are falling on deaf ears. Yesterday, Harriet Harman, the constitutional affairs minister and a declared contender for the deputy's job, made an appeal to party members by implicitly criticising Mr Blair's foreign policy.
"The new leadership needs to have a foreign policy that is rooted in people's sense of what they think Britain's place in the world is and that might mean a different view about our relationship with America or our relationship with Europe," she said. |
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1405892006
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azzuri
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Ha ha! 
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Reluctant Hero
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On Newsnight the other night, 30 Labour voters were involved in a little experiment to see who would fare best as Labour leader.
Various candidates were put forward including Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, John Reid, Alan Milburn, Alan Johnson and John MacDonald.
The 30 voters were then kept for 3 hours listening to TV presentations made by the candidates, reading their cv’s etc.
At the end of it all, John Reid came out on top. Could he be the next PM?
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wisnaeme
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| Reluctant Hero wrote: |
At the end of it all, John Reid came out on top. Could he be the next PM? |
Aye, I watched that. I sincerely hope John Reid is not the great white Labour hope for the future. If you thought Brown jobbie was cold and calculating, weel you aint seen nothing yet; not as far as the "enforcer" is concerned.I'll bluidy emigrate to Eire if he gets in so ah wull.Poor Scotland what heinous crime did we commit to deserve the punishment of having such cretins imposed apon us? I think the crime may have been something to do wae apathy by ra way.  Mind you the far right unionists like for example members of the Spec of Embra will be thinking that it will be a cold day in hell before they allow Reid to lord it over them. Aye, the mere suggestion of Reid PM will sting them in plotting all sorts. Brown jobbie is their man ye ken. Aye, bought and paid fer so he is, allegedly. Ah think that there could be a lot of grief coming from that direction for oor Mr Reid and his aspirations, so ah do.
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Reluctant Hero
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I was amused by the view that a lot of them wouldn't vote for Brown because he was Scottish and then they went and voted for Reid 
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SLG
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I saw that as well, very interesting. I think the Scottish thing comes down to looking for an excuse. If you are a (new) Labour supported, Brown should be the natural successor to Blair, but people just don't like him. So they look for all the reasons why they can justify this and one of them is being Scottish. Those people were clearly impressed with Reid, so it never came into it for him.
I'm just watching Reid give his speech to the Labour conference. Looking very relaxed, very confident and it's going down well. You're right, wisnaeme, about being cold and calculating. Of course he wants to be PM and it was just a tactic for him to day he didn't. I really think the Blairites and anti-Brownites will make a big push for him to stand - and looking like the popular Alan Johnston could stand as with him as deputy. He has done himself a lot of favours with this speech anyway.
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Reluctant Hero
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The odds of Reid becoming the next Labour leader are tumbling.
First he was brought in to sort out the Foreign Office, then he had to sort out the Home Office now it looks like he will be called upon to sort out the Prime Minister role.
I wonder who will be chancellor if Reid wins the vote?
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