Peter Oborne (London, Daily Mail): Gordon Brown's speech yesterday was a tragic event, amounting to the abolition of politics. This cannot succeed, but what will be the price of its eventual failure?
All his previous speeches to Labour conference have been fine and sometimes superb oratory. They contained passion, either because he was attacking Tory villainy, or because he was speaking up for organised labour or its ideals. Yesterday's speech had no passion. This was because every word, from fatherhood to Britishness, was calculated to place himself above party. He scarcely mentioned Labour. He did not mention the trade unions or the rights of the workers at all. It contained cynical devices to appeal to Tory voters, with texts and ideas from recent Cameron speeches adopted wholesale. Some of the ideas - for instance the repatriation of criminals - were aimed at voters who have defected to the BNP from Labour. There was no core of values or beliefs despite the use of these words. This has, of course, worked extremely well with the Tory papers.
He spoke a lot of Britain in which I personally strongly believe. But what kind of Britishness is it that dare not speak also the fine words of England, Scotland and Wales? It feels asphyxiating, without air or human breath.
So what is Brown doing? Either we should take him at his word, in which case he genuinely thinks he can create a new national consensus in which the governing party simultaneously represents forces previously regarded as contradictory, ie organised labour and international capital. Or - and one rather hopes this is the case - and he is misleading us. Either way, it's very depressing.
