Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, on Mumsnet for a webchat

[JustineMumsnet]

Do post your advance questions here.

Who's seen this? CitizensUK speech earlier today

Do you really have to register? That's weird, I'm not registered

Basically, it's seems like a fairly balanced review of Brown (bearing in mind it's the FT!)

It talks about his work ethic, his belief that he can still win the election, his obsession with fiscal policy and the global economy and his inability to communicate his ideas with the electorate. "Mr Brown believes passionately that resolving the global financial crisis is the key to Britain?s future economic success, but some aides wish he would focus more on issues closer to the hearts of the voters."

It's not without criticism of him, of course.

It was this bit "Mr Brown has always had a strong belief in global governance and in the past viewed the EU as an inward-looking, outdated and at times protectionist regional bloc. But he has come to realise it can shape the global debate when it speaks in unison, whether on banking reform or climate change. One British diplomat says: ?He works well together with France and Germany. Nicolas Sarkozy is the accelerator, Gordon puts the gas in the tank and Angela Merkel is the brake." That I wanted to highlight for vesela

You're only allowed to read a certain amount of articles per month on the FT without subscribing... not sure how many and how the time period works though but I can't read either!

Thanks, wubbly.

And for the citizensUKspeech, onebatmother - I'd wanted to listen to that. But it makes me angry. We're facing cuts now because of their general hopelessness.

The scary thing is... I have a hunch that there are more than a few people who will vote tory, but never (ever ever) declare it to a pollster... so not sure what that is going to do on thursday.

Missed the whole thing - noticed he ignored my serious BNP question and answered my fluffy one ..still he'd get my vote if I didnt live in a libdem/tory marginal...

Thanks for the link to that speech onebatmother.

Mr Brown I applaud you and your government's achievements.

Perhaps we don't deserve this man of moral convinction and integrity if we are too short of memory and sight, to be able as a poulation, to recognise his values and sincerity.

Go Gordon, your work is not done yet.

good webchat, i thought.

and if you get in, Gordon, and by christ i hope you do (i know you're not perfect and have really made an arse of some things but Camo sends shivers down my spine), i've always wondered whether making ALL benefits universal and using income tax to raise revenue in a more delicately calibrated manner would work as a cost cutting exercise.

although it would put heaps of council penpushers out of work, i suppose. tricky job you've got there... i see that. hope you keep it, and if you don't, all the best to you and the family for a happy life thereafter.

CaptainNancy - they weight polls for shy Tories, though, don't they? They didn't use to, but then they got caught out in 1992 (is that right?) and started weighting more for this and that.

Yup, I think the pollsters still adjust for Tory voters being less likely to confess their voting intentions. Although I have a horrid fear that they still under-rate the Tories.

do they? that's good, i've been rather worried about the same thing as nancy.

Thanks for the link to the Citizens UK speech, onebat

I can't believe I missed this! Have just read the whole thread. I must say, speaking as a non Labour voter, Gordon came across quite well here.

Onebat I think it would be good to start a thread with the video you have linked to. I'm sure there are plenty people who would be interested.

If anyone has summat similar from Cameron I would be interested to critisise compare.

Speed read this thread. Impressed. Thought Gordon came across as pretty passionate. Labour's campaign should have explained why they had had to spend so much though.

i really hope that someone brought him up to date on the bigotgate thing, btw. i wish he hadn't apologised, but i see that he had to... [grudging]

Aitch- I hope that was in answer to vesela not Edam!

Oh I wish I'd known about this, but it's probably a good thing I didn't. There he is, still blatantly scaremongering about Tory and Lib Dem tax credit policies.

FWIW, my question to GB would have been. In this economic climate, why does on earth does he think £545 a year for very well-off families is worth the cost of the administration? Really?

Oh, forgot to say that it is precisely those kinds of lies and scaremongering that have ensured I will never ever again vote for a Labour government.

Point I was making earlier about what a good deal RBS/LLoyds is for the tax payer

Not sure why labour is explaining more that they made the right calls on avoiding the depression and that they will make loads from RBS and Lloyds in a couple of years. DC will have a nice windfall. Mark my words.

Have a lie-in I expect haha!

'oh why does he see fit to keep taxing the motorists, which prices where I am rising on daily basis?' I totally agree with you on that thesouthsbelle

I am sorry but I will not be voting Labour, Gordon Brown sold our Gold reserves and messed up big time when he was Chancellor and now we are paying HIS debts in our taxes! He does not help the middle income earners at all, we work very hard and get no help whatsoever.

I also want the immigration laws tightened. This Island is only so big and jobs are getting harder to come by for our own people and our graduates because people are being let in. Have strict rules like America and Australia have.

Strict rules like America? Hmm, has that worked for AMerica? Ask any American.

Good question, gaelicsheep.