成人论坛

Maybe he is not enjoying the job because he is having to deal with the results of the wrong decisions he made as Chancellor.He knows it,but because of his ego he cannot admit to either himself or us that he made any mistakes as the prudent Iron Chancellor.He therefore blithly carries on the same course and makes those errors worse.
We the electorate have to pay up for his mistakes.

It has never been hard to tell the difference between a Scotsman with a grievance and a ray of sunshine.

Why oh why can't people who are able;that is interviewing journalists, keep politicians to the point.
It's no use the Prime Minister offering "pie in the sky", that is 3 million houses by 2015, when many people may be dead.
People want to know that when they go to the government offices, things work. When they go to their hospital, they will be seen by competant people, not necessarily the best in the land, as we can't all see the best in the land. If we do, then who sees the ordinary but competant. We want government that works NOW.
PIE in the SKY is no good for now.

What I thought was incredibly noticeable was the use of "I" so much; for someone that took office insisting that there would be a new way of doing things, the Prime Minister went out of his way to say "When I made the tough decisions" and "When I make tough decisions going forward..."

It begged the questions "how come there's no mention of either your predecessor as PM or your successor as Chancellor when tough decisions are being made? Aren't you in fact running the Treasury AND the domestic policies of the government just as much now as you were before June of last year?"

If he'd said yes, he'd be attacked as a masochist, or worse, insensitive. I don't want a Prime Minister who enjoys floods, losing my records, banks collapsing, and sending soldiers to die in two wars.

I guess its because of 'events dear boy'. I think also that people do not see any difference now that he is leader of Labour - policies are the same and mishaps continue.
And frankly I think there is a feeling that there is just too much interference from government - everything needs legislation or pronouncements and its possible that people are getting sick and tired or being lectured at - so they need a target and fun loving Gordon is an easy one ..

I'm not a fan of Gordon Brown, but I'd rather have reticence than a PM who thinks we're interested in, for example, whether or not he wears boxers and how many times a night he can get it up.

His father brought him up not to tell lies, so he couldn't say that he's on top of the job and thoroughly enjoying it.

What a bizarre interview. Does Brown actually realise how he comes across to the listener? It was almost as though he was answering questions to a five-year-old rather than an experienced interviewer. His response to almost every question was that he was dealing with the "big issues" and making the "important decisions" before dribbling on about health, education & etc. I was a supporter of Brown until he became PM - now I just think he cuts a pathetic figure. Unbelievable!

GB sounded like the sort of person who has sensibly set his 'work pleasure' threshold low, so as not to get very unhappy and frustrated in his work. I'd rather have someone in charge who is prepared to just 'get on with it' rather than fret about whether or not he's enjoying it enough!

Gordon Brown is the man who raided my pension while feathering the public sector's nest; who sold the country's gold at historically low prices; who now has us entering a recession with historically high levels of public debt (after "10 years of careful stewardship!"); and who blinked first over Northern Rock and entered into a more or less open-ended liability with taxpayers' money securing The Crock's creditors.

I switched R4 off this morning. If I hear that man say once more how he's "taking difficult decisions", and using the phrase "after ten years as Chancellor, and now as Prime Minister" I shall probably succumb to a fit of the screaming habdabs.

The steady "drip, drip" quality of that particular mantra makes the Chinese Water Torture look positively desirable.

This sort of guarded response from the Prime Minister in a non-political sense shows exactly why we will never warm to him, however successful he might be.

It seems obvious that he's either simply not enjoying it, or just not enjoying it as much as he thought he would. There is one simple solution - call a General Election!!!

His chickens have come home to roost... before he could get a new 5 year mandate... shame that.

No wonder he ain't happy.

Bob Wrote:

"It has never been hard to tell the difference between a Scotsman with a grievance and a ray of sunshine."

Bob, there is no need to be small-minded. Your comments are needlessly insulting and bordering on bigoted.

(The other Scottish stereotype from the dour Scot is the drunk over-happy Scot. You can't have it both ways.)

I thought we had got past the stage were we assume national stereotypes to be true or valid in any way, other than the offensive, and often racist, nonsense it usually is.

What does it indicate, when a man in his late fifties is still living by his father's precepts rather than having developed his own?

Poor old Gordon - I certainly am not enjoying his version of 'doing his job'!

It's probably not a hugely enjoyable job when you are doing it- incredibly long hours, loads of pressure, and it must be very very frustrating. I bet it's only enjoyable once you have resigned!

Welcome back Nick!

It seemed obvious to me he meant yes! but was just being polite

How does the saying go - 'If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen...'...

It's pretty depressing when the first question the 成人论坛's political editor thinks of after a 30 minute interview with the Prime Minister is 'why won't he say he's happy'. Who cares whether he's happy? He's not there to be happy, he's there to run the country.

I hope he is enjoying his job more than the British people are enjoying having him as PM.

He is not the man for the job, at a time of supposed growth we have a high budget defecit as well as high taxes and he is to blame from when he was chancellor.

Haha the last comment sums it all up...

How many other politicians get asked this? We need a competent prime minister; whether he is good at grinning is not important.

Clive James wrote an interesting on happiness that may help illuminate some of the issues. A more Zen Buddhist perspective is that whether the Prime Minister is happy or not happy is neither here nor there. If he is, great. If he isn't, that's great as well. By getting on with the job the Prime Minister is displaying sound leadership as he allows things which cause happiness and sadness to arise and decline of their own accord.

If there's a point I'd like to make, it would be that the Prime Minister's state is one thing and the interviewers state is another. Yes, it may be important that the Prime Minister is happy as much as it's important that he sets a sound leadership example, but what of the interviewer and public? The Prime Minister cannot carry the whole weight of the nation on his shoulders. Success is an individual and collective matter. What about yourself?

In , Alan Watts examines the philosophical difference between the practical and spiritual perspectives of life. Some people are imprisoned by this while others find it liberating. Whatever one does things are as they are and accepting this is, perhaps, all we can do. The second we try to attain it, we lose it. The second we let go of it, we attain it. So, better just to let things be as they are in the moment.

The more pressing question is are we enjoying having Gordon Brown as our Prime Minister. And, for more people than it would have been guessed, the answer is no.

I'm not surprised he's not enjoying it considering the ridiculously hysterical media seem to have it in for him.

"oooh, why can't he smile?! I don't like the way he looks. He should come out of that stuffy old house and talk to us like Tony used to!"

And the way they go on about "gordon's taxes" as if he's appropriating the money for himself and using to buy sports cars.

Leave him alone.

Having listened to the Andrew Marr interview yesterday and Edward Stourton this morning I am yet again disheartened at the inability of the interviewers to get the PM to answer any questions in a straightforward way. In common with most other politicians he refuses to give any straight answers and is a master of obfuscation and misdirection.
I have to say that we need interviewers who are more tenacious and will not be diverted by the set formula speeches that the PM launches into when asked any question.
If we are ever to make politicians more accountable it will start when we canmake them state their postion on issues.
Gordon Brown talks as if he had been in some other government for the last 10 years.
I suspect that if he was pulled of his script he would struggle to answer questions on some of the key issues. He come accross like someone reading from a Powerpoint presentation.
When politicians lapse into business speak it means that nothing much will happen.

having actually had the chance to hear the question put again and again this morning to the Prime
Minister on the Today programme, I must admit that it did not strike me as courteous at all. I even thought of sending a message to the Today programme about it. So would you pass on the message Nick? "Stop reducing the Prime Minister to this level of questions! This is Murdoch standard perhaps, why does the 成人论坛, even with The Today programme stoop so low. Go and "enjoy" a pint in the pup and think about it", is my recommendation.

I think Bob should have the decency to acknowledge his 鈥渄ebt鈥� to PG Wodehouse! Come to think of it Gordon Brown may actually be Sir Roderick Glossop.

Every now and then a journalist asks a question of a politician which leaves them completely unable to respond. An example would be when President Bush was asked 'What has been your biggest mistake?' There was a long, embarrassing silence, punctuated by mumblings about 'I'm sure something will pop into my head'.

Nick,

Surely the answer to your question Nick, is that the Prime Minister is incapable of giving a straight answer to any question?

Incidentally does the UK still have a Health Minister or Chancellor of the Exchequer? Anyone listening to the interview on Today this morning would be forgiven for thinking Brown had taken over these roles. Darling and Johnson must be spitting mad.

Ed

Although obviously we never really get to see what politicains are really like, Gordon Brown's personality is obviously completely different perhaps the opposite of Tony Blair's. Tony Blair was immensely charismatic and did present a positive 'front'.

Gordon Brown's leadership style appears to be more hands on than Tony Blair's ie his personality is such that he wants to understand thoroughly whats going on. That probably means he experiences more pressure.

Possibly he could step back and delegate more so he can be more strategic. But give the man a chance. So you should 'enjoy' a difficult job!

I'd much rather have someone who could do a job than someone who appeared to be doing a good job.

Ok we've had 10 years in the economic sunshine and now it looks like there could be a less buoyant future. But could 'trendy, green' David Cameron do any better? Although I'd bet he'd appear to love the job, like any PR man would.

yeah it's all about attitude, being positive, what's ability got to do with it??

Farmers may well enjoy chickens coming home to roost.

However, Brown is a politician, and the the chickens of his 10 years failure at the Treasury, along with the chickens of 10 years failure by the rest of the Labour misgovernment, all finally coming home to roost on Brown's maladministration, cannot be enjoyable to him.

I think today's news item that "The last 15 years have seen a dramatic change in the UK's economic performance and its position in the world economy.

"No longer are we the 'sick man of Europe'."

Backed up by a higher GDP than the USA, France or Germany will make Gordon rather more cheerful this week.

Perhaps more knowledge about how well we are doing will also silence the doomsayers. But I doubt it.

Its time for Gordon to get back to prudence and carry on the transformation of Britain into a global powerhouse economy.

So we have a 20 minute interview with the PM and the issue the 成人论坛's political editor picks up on is whether GB can *say* whether he's enjoying the job.

It does not bode well for a higher level of political discourse if this is the level we'll continue to have delivered to us. No wonder that millions do not want to engage in politics. No wonder that the politicians regress to the mean in the way they present their offerings to the public through the media.

Of course Nick you may have been attempting to be humorous and light to start the New Year. I wonder if that is a successful strategy for informing and educating the audience. Or is 成人论坛 News doing entertainment now?

Do you enjoy your job? Does it annoy you when people ask you fatuous questions?

He's miserable because deep down he knows he has no moral mandate to rule England.

Does it matter whether he is enjoying it or not? What was the point of the question? It seems odd for a political correspondent to be so intrigued about such a lowbrow issue.

Is this really news? We all know it's rather unpresbyterian to be seen to enjoy anything. Brown's scowl doesn't add up to anything more than Blair's smirk.

Jim and John,

I think you will both find that Bob is merely quoting the catch line from a Private Eye look-a-like cartoon, one featured in this year's Private Eye annual.

As for the PM's enjoyment of the job, are we now going to move into an era where personality is no longer of top importance, but the ability to smile/laugh in the face of a disastrous few months? Voters will not stand for being asked to vote on which party produces the same policies in a 鈥渉appier鈥� light.

Peter Campbell is a politics undergraduate at the University of York and Deputy Politics Editor of York student newspaper 鈥淣ouse鈥�.

I recommend Bill Duncan's "The Wee Book of Calvin" for some insight as to how the PM's mind might work. We're not put on this earth to enjoy ourselves.

It's quite obvious that if the Prime Minister can't answer a simple question like this with a sraight answer then he is not the man to run the country. He has a sense of humour failure about everything. 'Cheerless' was the kind of attribute we used to associate wih leaders of Soviet Bloc states. I rest my case.

To be honest it just makes a nice change for Brown to actually SAY something. All through the recent crises we haven't heard a dickybird from him, yet whenever it's a topic that's nothing to do with the UK or something neutral/positive, he's out there droning on about something too dull to pay attention to.

Why can't the PM say.....?
He's tried talking and no one believes him.

Sorry "Jim" at 10:46. Debt is duly acknowledged - it wasn't explicit before because I thought everyone knew the quotation, perhaps not.

What a poor interview it was. Ed Stourton allowed Gordon Brown to get away with murder.
He expects the public sector to accept 2% in England (but not in Scotland) yet a better indication of inflation the RPI, has been in excess of 4% for a year; the highest level of inflation since 1992. The Golden Rule has only been meet by massaging the rules and the use of off balance sheet assets (PFI's and Notwork Rail).

He claims credit in the flooding which has been shown to be exacerbated by the late arrival of barriers on the Severn and poor maintenance in Hull.
He claimed credit for foot and mouth yet the outbreak was caused by poor maintenance in an out of date facility, something that was the responsibility of this Government and DEFRA.

The next couple of years will be the measure of how good a Chancellor Gordon Brown was when reduced growth will force this Government to either raise even more tax or start cutting back on the bloated inefficient public sector.
Interesting times, shame Ed had his tummy tickled and ending up doing a "Desert Island discs" interview.

Would you be enjoying it if you were being forced to have to make announcements on health issues that your health minister should be making? It looks like he feels he needs to grab all the headlines . Total insecurity.

I find these comments illuminating, and sense that frustration with this Administration is growing rapidly.

My thought this morning is -- what would happen if the rest of the population (who doesn't participate in this sort of message board) votes New Labour back in?

I personally went to see the back of them asap, but what if the rest of the Electorate can't see the obvious?

Nick -- whether our Prime Minister enjoys his job is not something that you or any serious journalist should be asking. If you want to ask that question you should write for Hello! magazine, not the 成人论坛.

Sometimes we can learn a few tricks ourselves by acutely observing the experienced politicians toolkit being used in ernest.

For instance, Gordon Brown has been slated because the tri-partite regulatory system of financial governance he devised (or at least took the credit for devising) failed at its first serious test i.e Northern Rock.

When Brown was challenged about this, he gave an slippery answer "Any system will require some fine-tuning over time and that is the case here".

As a sometime freelance systems engineer, I realy must remember that one but suspect that explanations of that nature would cut very little ice with my clients if they suffered a catastrophic failure of a system I had devised.

Maybe it is just so much easier 'working' for the biggest mug-of-all-time, the hapless English PAYE taxpayer.

He's not enjoying the job because he now realises that it's a lot harder than he ever appreciated when disgracefully sniping away from No. 11. And if he has much self awareness (which in itself is questionable and a dreadful weakness in a leader of people) he may have begun to appreciate two other significant problems, both of his own making.

Firstly; while Brown has the great urge to do so, it is impossible to micro manage in Government any more than in a large business. His fingerprints are all over so much of Government decision making, emasculating his Ministers, delaying decision taking, and he risks leaving the finger of responsibility pointing directly towards himself when things go wrong. Darling's half baked, spin inspired, Capital Gains Tax reforms are an excellent example. Or the Northern Rock fiasco.

Secondly; while Brown did two great things as Chancellor (Independence for the Bank of England and low-ish income taxes), our public finances are now in a mess. The country ran a deficit when we should have been in surplus. We now face far higher borrowing requirements than we should. Under Brown's direct edict, too much money has been wasted under his absolute direction. Look, for instance, at an unreformed NHS. Cash has been poured down the insatiable throat of this service, greatly improving the lot of the staff for insufficient benefit to the patient.

The solution? There isn't one for Brown. His failings are beyond correction:

Shameless,transparent, spin. (A Government of all the talents - as long as you do as you're told; the infamous photo trip to Baghdad; tax rises presented as tax cuts; double counting of soldiers leaving Iraq to exaggerate the figures).

Dithering. (The non election; Capital Gains tax; Northern Rock)

Duplicity. Does he seriously think that anyone believes he called off the autumn election because he wanted to articulate his vision rather than because the polls were moving in the wrong direction? He takes the Public for fools yet doesn't appreciate his transparency.

17. At 09:58 AM on 07 Jan 2008, Margaret L wrote:
What does it indicate, when a man in his late fifties is still living by his father's precepts rather than having developed his own?

I think it just means that, after a lifetime's reflection, you agree with your father's worldview.

Surely by our late fifties most of us have got over our teenage angst and are not still rebelling against our parents as a knee jerk reaction?

Re John Fowler on the Wee Book of Calvin - the first answer to the Shorter Catechism - a key document of Calvinist Presbyterianism in Scotland - is that man's [sic] chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever -not all presbyterians are joyless just as not all Scots are dour. Its just easier to reach for the cliches than to deal with complexity.

Nick

You have little experience of dour folk, have you?

The only thing I share with Gordon Brown is my dourness. My colleagues have learned to appreciate that I do not do `happy'.

I am happy that Brown has now made us richer than the Americans. If he said he was enjoying the job he would be accused of being arrogant about his success. The trivia the Today programme gets into these days beggars belief.

I'm going off the Today programme. You wait til the interviewee is safely off-air and then interpret his answers, in this case spinning "Not at all" as evasive.

It's entertaining but it's not honest. You get the news equivelent of a quick laugh, but your credibility suffers.

While I wouldn't vote for Mr Brown, can I suggest that even those who do find his dour nature rather too much? While he might indeed represent a change from Mr Blair's jokey and folksy bonhomie and chiselled smile, I'm not sure it is quite as successful as some in Labour might have hoped...Frankly, he gives every sign of boring the nation to death.

Comment 1 "Mistakes made as chancellor"
Would that be the news today that people in the UK are now, on average better off that their counterparts in the States (and Germany and France).
In terms of economic growth, Brown's one the best chancellors this country has ever had.
As for his actual comments, when has Brown ever been happy? And what would it say about him if he was: Labour aren't doing well in the polls, and there seems to have been more disasters in the last 9 months than at any time in the Blair era (some inside his control, others not). Let's just leave him to get on with the job, regardless of his emotional state.

I've taken another run through the comments and it's interesting seeing how many people are beating their chests and nitpicking like a baby playing with its food. To be honest, I wouldn't treat much of it seriously as it looks like just another attention game. The real downside won't be felt by the Prime Minister who seems comfortable with rising above issues but the people who are complaining themselves. They are unhappy because they are unhappy.

Under those circumstances, I think, the Prime Minister would be wise to turn his back and completely ignore comment like this. He could turn lead into gold and make the sick walk and the protest would continue. Once people have locked into an approach it's pretty much impossible to change perceptions. Mostly, all you can do is smile, shrug, and wait until the temper tantrum stops. The survival urge is strong. When people are hungry enough they'll get in line.

As studies show that the average mental maturity across developed nations is below historical norms, unhappiness is rising in spite of more wealth than ever before, and insomnia grips younger and younger people, the Prime Minister's firm, gentle, and long-term approach is key to national wellbeing, and economic and social success. Indeed, the economic troubles people see on the horizon can only strengthen his position as "father of the nation".

And, yes. I'm perfectly happy, thank you. It's more food for me!

For a career politician like GB, the instinct never to give a straight answer to a question asked by an interviewer is so deeply ingrained that no doubt he just couldn't bring himself to give a straight answer even to such an innocuous question as this.

Nick, you say: "Never worry. There **will** be more substantial things to write about." (My emphasis added.)

The point is, there already are. There were many points of great substance in the Today interview that you could have taken forward.

The John Smith story is a non-sequitur. What's being complained about by some here is the editorial choice, not the politician's sense of humour or lack of one.

Incredibly, the reference to John Smith doesn't make it a reasonable question.

Brown SHOULD be running the country, wether he enjoys it or not.

Northern Wreck is going to cost the taxpayers (not the government) billions of pounds. Of these two topics, I'd prefer more insight into NR rather than Brown's level of glee.

Turkeybellyboy says:

"My thought this morning is -- what would happen if the rest of the population (who doesn't participate in this sort of message board) votes New Labour back in?"

I love the idea that the 成人论坛 messageboard might be a source of enlightenment. I think the word you're looking for is 'echo chamber'.

And if people vote Gordon back in, that's what's called "a democracy".

He should be known as Gordon Frown. He always looks frightened and depressed to me, a bit like a rabbit in the headlights!
Tee hee!

Move over Mr Frown. Make way for someone who will inspire us.

Please don't let it be Mr Millimetre or any of the other front line 'little boys'

I gave up on the Today program a long time ago - who wants to start the day with a list of pronouncements by government ministers, followed by committees of MPs, followed by 'experts' telling us something nice is bad for us, followed by non-interviews with government ministers - for God's sake give us a rest from them all! Does anything happen in the UK that isn't government-related, or about some so-called celebrity behaving badly ?

I don't think he is enjoying the job. The bags under his eyes get heavier and his hair greys further by the day.

There is a sense that we are at the edge of a cliff at the moment. We should all savour it because things aren't going to be this good again for quite a while.

The outlook for the coming year is bleak. Jobs and homes will be lost and the public services will suffer as the economy slows.

I'm not a Labour voter but I sincerely hope Gordon Brown has an excellent 2008. Personal attacks on his character are pointless at this point.

Gordon Brown knows that being prime minister is a great honour. But imagine the ridicule he'd get for saying he's enjoying himself:

- "what he enjoys himself dealing with thousands of displaced people from floods?"

- "he enjoyed dealing with two potential terrorists attacks that could have killed hundreds of people?"

- "he enjoyed spending billions of pounds of taxpayers money to save Northea bank?"

You know he couldn't say he's been "enjoying" himself because the media (which is overwhelmingly anti-Labour) would spin it against him.

Dear Nick
The answer is simple, "we do not like him being Primeminister."

Fact of the matter is Brown seems to be the control freak others made him out to be and he made all sorts of decisions as Chancellor which got him out of a hole then but which are now starting to come back to haunt and what annoys me about him more than anything is the assumption that he, or anyone else for that matter, has some divine right to be PM just cos they were holder of a certain position for a long time.

He had his chance to go for being PM in 94 but he bottled it because he knew Blair would be better at it. He's quite similar to Thabo Mbeki in South Africa come to think of it - neither of them know when enough is enough. Ten years is more than enough for any politician to be in office as they lose any grip on reality. Time for GB to go and work in the real world.

But the depressing thing is as unsuited as GB is to the job of being a team player and and bringing people together as PM I don't think anyone else would be any better or worse. So I won't be voting for Labour again but I won't be voting for the Eton toff brigade either and that leaves the Lib Dems - is that what it's come too after only 6 months of GB!

I am sick and tired of all these idiots arguing that somehow Gordon Brown has no mandate to be PM. How?! We do NOT live in a country where we elect the Prime Minister. We live in a country where we elect THE PARTY. Whoever happens to be the head of the ruling party IS the PM. Don't like it? Bad luck, go out, protest, get the law changed so that we can also elect our PM. But for now Gordon Brown has as much a mandate as Tony Blair ever did, as Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill did.
I don't particularly like Gordon Brown, but arguing that he doesn't have a mandate shows how uneducated you are.

Comment 63

Just because the UK has a higher GDP per person than the USA doesn't make us better off. Bear in mind the punitive taxation that Gordon Brown has forced upon us and the far higher cost of living over here, in rent/mortgages, food, fuel etc. etc. I think you will find that Americans will feel very happy with their lot compared to ours

The thought that Brown may be unhappy has cheered me up no end.

Would Charles E Hardwidge please forward details of his clearing account for payment of the nation's heating bills, mortgage expense, council tax and blown up pensions? Either hat or send us details of where to obtain his happy pills?

Many (heartfelt and happy) thanks in anticipation

Did Gordon Brown's father really say to him "just get on with the job son"? In what context would he say such a thing? It doesn't sound like parental advice to me - even from a stern Presbyterian. Gordon Brown sounded a bit panicked at being asked Ed's personal question and came up with this rather strange reply. Like so much of what Brown says it doesn't ring true.

#75 Charles Corrie

For what it is worth, I do not think that any current politician has a worthwhile mandate to govern the English people.

In my opinion, the English are essentially leaderless in the political sense and are probably not particularly bothered about it either.

I suppose that could be the result of not being successfully invaded for nearly 1000 years, that is, an almost dormant sense of politics.

However, I think we English could be doing a lot better.

For instance, a recent import, our Polish neighbour, tells me that 'our general education system is very poor' and I find it difficult to argue otherwise.

Hopefully, one day soon, the English people will wake up from their political slumbers and realise that we need to get our finger out again.

No wonder politics is held in contempt when top 成人论坛 journalists focus on trivia like this rather than digging into the real issues. Nick, you always seem excited by the froth of politics - do you enjoy your job? You appear to - you can have endless fun and have to shoulder no responsibility. It's about time our politicians were given a chance and a little more respect and the public were encouraged to grapple with the real dilemmas behind most decisions instead of being encouraged to catcall by blogs like this. I doubt you wll publish this - I find the 成人论坛 resents criticism and edits it out.

Poor old Gordon. He is pushed by his minders to do 'media' to see off Cameron but he ends up sounding like someone chewing a wasp. Can't wait for PMQs!

Once again our political correspondents trivialise politics. Who cares if Gordon Brown is enjoying his job? But we can expect little else of people who think calling someone "Mr Bean" is a Commons triumph and giving a bland speech without notes is remarkable. And I had hoped for higher standards this year ...

'It's no use the Prime Minister offering "pie in the sky", that is 3 million houses by 2015, when many people may be dead.' Assuming there are going to be no babies in the next few years, that is a very valid point. Unfortunately there will be babies born in the next few years, so we need the housing.

The last thing we need is a journalist asking the PM if he is happy. What we do need is hard questioning with demands for direct answers.

I'd rather see harsh questions on HRMC data loss, immigration, EU and the latest increases in energy prices.

People basically do not give a toss if the PM is happy or not. He is paid by the taxpayer to run the country.

I love the latest manipulation of figures which "shows" that we are "richer" than Americans.

Get on a plane and pay the poor people a visit. Then, very sensibly, you may decide that it really isn't totally obvious by which measure we are "richer".

Which reminds me that next time you see that a hospital cost 拢100 million to build, that the great British public are actually paying 拢1 billion for it. Using accounting measures like these ensure that our economic indicators look better than they actually are - quelle suprise!

I chair my childrens' school's parents' association. Do I enjoy this job? Yes and no. There are some aspects of it which are very enjoyable. Others aren't much fun but have to be done and I feel sort of obliged to do them. I guess it's a public service thing.

Well, that was an honest answer to a hypothetical question. I do wish that Gordon Brown could be honest - straightforward - just tell us what he thinks.

The worst part of the interview with Ed Stourton was when Brown switched into 'forced smile' mode and gave the spin doctor's answer to the 'do you enjoy?' question.

Like other posters here I thought that Brown would be a breath of fresh air after Blair. He'd be straightforward, honest, tell-it-how-it is and so on. Now, like Mark:

'I was a supporter of Brown until he became PM - now I just think he cuts a pathetic figure. Unbelievable!

I feel very let down and, to be frank, I don't know which way to turn. For the first time in my (52 year) life, I can imagine not voting at the next general election.

I'm no supporter of Brown or the late John Smith however, Robinson does bang on a bit too much for my liking at we Presbyterian Scots. As an educated person himself he should be only too aware of the positive contribution multitudes of Scottish Presbyterians have made to the UK and the wider world.
No wonder we have the SNP in the position they are today when media commentators make what are mildly racist comments.
Leave it out Nick, quite a lot of folk like me have no truck with Brown either but it has nothing to do with his background. It his policies stupid !