To think this is the best speech for ... well, for ages

[wedlocked]

Look at this

I've looked at it. The first half was a "Gosh, aren't you community groups fantastic!" bit of pointless fluff and the last half was reiteration of some policy pledges and an awful lot of skimming over the bad bits. And it was all wrapped up in a largely nonsensical (and wildly self-aggandising) nod to Cicero and Demosthenes.

What, in your opinion, makes it so good?

Why are the Classical references self-aggrandising? Not at all - they are a perfectly reasonable way of illustrating his point about the importance of passion in politics. IMVHO!

They're self-aggrandising as he's trying to conjure an image of him being in the same class of speechmaker as Demosthenes. Which is both untrue and also ignores the fact that Demosthenes wrote his own speeches.

I reiterate my question: what, in your opinion, makes it so good?

Brilliant speech. Reminds me of all that labour have put in place for the vulnerable and poor in society that would not be here today if the conservatives had had the same years to govern.

Maybe if His Gordonness had paid more attention to:

a) effectively regulating the financial services industry,
b) reducing overall government debt while the global economy was doing well rather than increasing it, and
c) actually being serious about "an end to boom and bust"

then our country wouldn't have been hit so very badly in the recession in the first place and/or would have recovered faster. As it is, the numbers of unemployed are still going up (source) so creating even more "vulnerable and poor" people in our society.

Gordon Brown. What a twunt.

I was going to post properly, but Snorbs has put it so well that I have nothing to add

well I would like to have seen what more the tories would have done to regulate the bankers - govt regulation not being high on their list of 'things tories like', specially not when it affects --their- mates the bankers!

It doesn't matter what other parties might have done if they were in power at the time.
They weren't.
Gordon Brown was, both as Chancellor and Prime Minister.
He fucked it up, big time.

(And if you believe that Gordon Brown isn't just as much in thrall to the City as the Tories are, you are very badly deluded.)

It does matter - of course it does, if you intend to vote!

Any road, haven't got time for long debate, school run looms.

Great speech - and, as i say, reminded me what the most vulnerable in society have now that they didn't under tory rule.

Pondering on alternative histories doesn't really matter because you don't know. All you've got is speculation and guesswork.

But we can make definitive judgements about what New Labour's achieved because we can see it. Well, most of it. Gordon's still keen on hiding the true long-term costs of PFI contracts even though he keeps saying they'll come clean.