The next election is more than just getting rid of this government it is about asserting voter power.

We need to put a huge number of the current MP's on the dole when they can enjoy the world that thay have created.

Politicians, now more than ever, need to know that ultimately they will be accountable and need to be looking over their shoulders more than once every 5 years.

Please all help to bring this about

Graham C, North Lincolnshire,

Superb, resonant, eloquent, perspicacious, witty, cutting, jusified, supportable... as usual. Mr P - thank god there is a de facto opposition of some sort to this malignant government. If you won't go back to politics then please write that book!!

Dr Peter Harvey, malvern,

A beautifully crafted piece reaching the wrong conclusion.

Mr Brown is a statist. He believes he has the ability to improve Britain through micro-management. He truly is a stalinist, in that he sees people as objects that will respond to central state initiatives. He really does think he can reveal to the banks what it is they have to do.

You're right in noticing that Mr Brown doesn't articulate a big idea. That's not because he hasn't got one. It's because this big idea of his would spell political ridicule and doom for him and he knows it.

http://tinyurl.com/6xdb4u

John Page, Brookmans Park, UK

Of course you're correct, Matthew, but what you usually say about David Cameron is very similar. Neither of has any developed policy or strong ideas to contribute, but both seem to. You eloquently describe these vapid characters very differently.

K Johansen, San Francisco, CA

Good piece of rhetoric. On a serious note, Gordon Brown seems different from Tony, in that the job does not appear to make Brown a slave to power.

Datis, Milton Keynes, England

well said Matthew Parris for making your point with your usual eloquence, I look forward to finding out how we can remove the cancer that has infected our once great country and perhaps restore some semblance of civility to our lives.
Great work

alex Lee, carshalton, surrey

Great. Not everybody in England are utterly incapable of critical thought and reflection. Thank you so much.

Aleksandra T, Ringwood,

What superb insight, I have been tolerant ~ indeed too tolerant in the belief that soe thing of worth would emerge. And regrettably nothing. What short sightedness on my part and what dishonesty must ly with those cl,oser to the obvious who have chosen a low profile for the sake of their own futures. Well said Matthew.
DO'M

Dermod O'Malley, Southampton,

I alway wonder why it has taken so long to unravel Brown. He inherited a great set of econeomic circumstances, and then set out reducing the cost of money (by halving the real inflation rate by fidding the numbers) and then borrowing billions every year and spending the money on non-wealth producing things and unfortunately the pubic looked no further and enjoyed spending the cheap money secured against non- productive assets (houses). So he bankrupts us, leaves huge debts, no manufacturing that we can really call our own, and is afraid to say to the Chinese that they should get out of Tibet. So Mathew you are right to say that they may push him out ( I think by July 2009) but who will want the job in the Labour party? No, David Cameron will be the next prime minister and have face similar tasks that Mrs Thather faced in 1979.

J Gardner, Bucks, uk

"He is hardworking, honest and seems to have a genuine interest in the third world. He has had everything thrown at him since moving into number 10. He has inherited from Blair - give him time and he will be great"
Lorene, sevenoaks.

....I struggle to see the honesty, and his genuine interest should be aimed at the UK, but he is hardworking........at self-promotion and ambition. Lorene he is an incompetent, devious oaf who will go down in history as the worst 'unelected' PM and the worst chancellor.....he will never be considered great, except by a small group of blinkered VI's who have probably profited from his missmanagement of UK PLC.

Yorkie, Amsterdam,

I have to give you credit for your (the media's) self-criticism. However, this also begs the question - which planet are the media in this country living on? It cannot be the same one that harbours the UK. Gordon Brown's intellectual deficits have been clear for all to see for years. One misguided spending spree after the other, selling gold at a historic low point, etc. etc. However, the media STILL don't seem to get what damage this government (and Mr. BRown has been no 2 for many years) has wrought - the loss of civil liberties at a speed and on a scale not seen in Europe since the 1930s. Mr. Parris, you've made a good start - now follow it through.

Chris, London,

At least one person in these comments (paul Flyn) has fallen for the 'gordons economic miracle' spin.
Gordon Brown inherited a sound economy from the Tories and steered it through a global boom. We have now come to the end of that boom and if he was such a genius that sound economy should be even stronger.
It is not, it is actually in tatters. Financed on a sea of debt. Economic cycles are influenced by decisions made by governments years before and Gordons Browns influence is now taking effect.
We should all remember Nu labours song. 'Things can only get better'.
Yes when they have gone.

rob, derby, uk

Mathew Parris you are so insightful, your articles are easy to read & this one is right on the button.

After seeing GB's performance on Pop Idol this week I was left speechless , I was convulsed with laughter .
Why did this man work so hard to look a fake & to please the Americans ? it exposed his towering ambition & willingness to look ridiculous in the name of altruism.
The tanned face , the fake smile, the flashing white teeth, the gay bonhomie, he came over as hideously camp.
I felt thoroughly ashamed to think this fake man is our Prime Minister.
Add this to the shambles he has let this country descend into &
he surely can see his departure is well overdue.
To think this man has spent his life plotting to be in number 10 , but never thought of what he would do once there, this is / has been a tragedy for him & the country.
Just looking at his legacy all I see is immigration, immigration,immigration & the EU referendum that never was one word, says it he 'cheated ' us

maggie millington, brittany, france

As usual,Matthew,spot on!(I do so enjoy your columns.)What you didn't mention (I think) was Brown's "stealth raid" on the pension funds.I'll never forgive him for that.I don't(and never have) voted Labour but it seems to me that he went against its tenet in this regard(and all the time pundits were saying how amazingly he was managing the UK's finances.)Like you I am thoroughly fed up with this Executive led by "Mr. Vacuum-Man."

HD, Salisbury, UK

You just havnt made your case. Just repeating that Brown is a vacuum and you dont know anyone who can describe his vision is a vacuum of information. If you had argued that he doesnt care about equality of opportunity,or education, or reducing poverty in Britain or Africa, then I would like to hear your evidence. But nothing just a repeat of unsubstantiated insults.

JAMES GALLAGHER, Montreux, Switzerland

like mattew parris i saw through brown a long time ago;he is nothing more than a blustering bully,he has no ambition other than to be pm,now that he has got what he set out to do perhaps he will now go for the sake of the country.

william rogers, caerphilly,

You're all missing the point. No government lasts much more than a decade, regardless of who is PM. The Tories hung on for 13 years after Attlee's defeat in 1951, but did so under four leaders. Wilson won 4 elections, and under him and Callaghan, Labour had 9 years in power, with Heath sandwiched in the middle for 4 Tory years. Thatcher stretched her own premiership to nearly 12 years but was dumped while she was still in No. 10. Major then took the Tories to its longest period in office since the war, 18 years, and as a result they went down to their biggest defeat in a century. Only now, after more than 10 years of Labour under Blair and Brown, have the Tories started to recover. Parris's opinions of Brown are quite irrelevant. Historically, the next election is both obvious and inevitable. Cameron will win, his honeymoon period will soon be over, Matthew Parris's grumbles will start, and eventually Dave will be booted out too, just like all the others. Mark my words!

K Philips, London, UK

Frank Field is the man who I trust; I've been impressed with his understanding of how I feel in a changing Britain.

I usually vote Conservative but don't like Cameron I prefer Davis who is more likely to represent my views as someone in the middle ground.

I would for the first time in my voting life would consider voting for UKIP or another party, never Liberial though I have a great dislike of Cleggover.

VJB, London,

The British have always had a Love-Hate relationship with their leaders contingent upon the essence of the government's idea of democracy and fairness over certain issues, The Poll Tax fiasco certainly sank Mrs. Thatcher just as the Referendum over the Lisbon Treaty/Constitution, dithering over, the Iraq Wa,r and other unpopular issues in the pipeline, will sink PM Bown . Unless of course he sees the folly of it all and does another major U turn. Not out of the question I feel..

Robert El-Cid, Hull., Eng;and

Mr Parris, it's even worse for Brown when viewed from outside Britain. He's coming over internationally as a clown! He arrived late for the EU treaty signing, couldn't negotiate a sittiing-at-table and worst of all, decided not to vote when at the recent Nato summit the issue of FYROM was raised. He and Miliband the Mild looked like Twiddledum and Twiddledee. Was he not aware that many thousands of British soldiers lie buried all over Greece for their defence of the Greek flag in WWII - a flag in which the Christian cross was replaced by the swastika by the FYROM authorities just before the NATO summit? As for his denial of a referendum I think the first reaction of the British people will be in the May local elections with the final coup de cirque in the forthcoming general election - the last twist of the knife before he disappears into oblivion, or the EU presidency. Bring on the clowns!

Dr David Green, Athens, Greece

In my opinion Brown has been following an agenda to the letter in spite of all the flak he is receiving. His agenda though is not to be made public under any circumstances.
His job is to push through the EU timetable as stealthy as possible. He is not there to do anything else.
Of course it would be easier to deal with the problems affecting this nation but that is not his remit.
Brown is not his own man and neither is Blair. They have a mission to finish a project which has been decades in the making and is not far from reaching an irreversable position.
When he has achieved his mission he will be rewarded for his sacrifice irrespective of the consecuences and damage he will have caused. He is not a bafoon , he is a martyr to his cause.

mike, lincoln,

Anyone who has seen these politicians in action for a number of years knows how hollow these people are. Anyone who ever believed in Tony Blair should have seen Wilson in action to understand it was all a con trick. The only difference is presentation and that was all there was to the Nulab scam.

Major was a disaster for the Conservatives and it was the EU and ERM that did for him. Has the full story of our ERM entry really been told? At least he left Brown and Blair a functioning economy. What will Brown leave his successor?

How can we ever have another Thatcher when we have sold our inheritence for the mess of potage that is the EU. We need to take back our independence. How about that for a rallying cry? Cry God for Harry, England and St George!

Robert, Worcester, UK

Your judgement of Gordon Brown is convincing.

My mind turns to the Home Office. We have had five Home Secretaries in this administration. Four of them were all recognisably, identifiably, Home Secretaries. If a little sulphurous, in one case. But Jacqui Smith?

The shape of space clearly changes every now and again and we are told that that is the Home Secretary. But that is the only way we know that she is there.

No ideas for the home affairs agenda are known to have emanated from her. She often can't answer questions. She looks neither pleased with the job nor uncomfortable with it. Just utterly uninterested. It's as though an event took place one day, out of the blue, inexplicably, an entirely unsought appointment was made, it made no difference to her and she makes no difference to the office.

Is she, would you say, the ideal Home Secretary for this Prime Minister? Or have I missed something, some spark in her?

.

David Moss, London, UK

GORDON BROWN'S REAL PROBLEM, Matthew? Simple. Like any other normal human being, he wants to be liked. When Tony Blair mingled with the rest of us, it was electorally, as the chosen one. Sadly, Gordon Brown, a faint-hearted usurper, was chosen by no one, and he carries that with him every waking moment, particularly after the Mr. Bean episode.
So get ready for baby-photo opps, more armed forces hand-shaking, robust confrontations with leaders who are spent forces anyway and "I'm one of the people, just like you" PR onslaughts.
He should have called the election.

Theo Nelson, South Hams,

The scariest thing I've seen in a long time is Gordon Brown being interviewed on the economy and saying that there's nothing wrong. You can't manage a crisis by pretending there isn't one.
The greatest favour Brown ever did the Tories was not calling an early election. At least he is going to be the one in 'power' when his great works come tumbling down around him. He was happy to take all the credit for the superb state of the economy handed to him by Ken Clark. And now that he's wrecked it he has nothing to say at all.

Sam, Lyndhurst,

Matthew. The Peter Brookes cartoon could have saved you 1000 words!- (even if the caption is hard to read) Perhaps there is a Benefits Supervisor behind the Curtain?

R James, Clifton, UK

Once again Matthew, an absolutely devastating indictment of a shallow man. The problem is that the damage has already been done.
While Blair was a hu'bristic liar this man is a petty fibber.

John Jobling, Melrose,

The man has no ideas, is humourless, an opportunist, a hypocrite (destroying pensions whilst protecting their own) and taxes at every opportunity despite originally stating that 'New' Labour had "No plans to tax and spend". Along with the policies of turning Britain into a police state whilst perversely allowing anybody into the country Gordon Brown does not represent my beliefs in any shape or form. This is quite apart from bungling the economic aspects of the country - remember him selling off gold at the lowest price ever to raise revenue! The man is a total waste of space.

P. Kelly, Beverley, UK

"It'll be "our Dave" in No. 10 'ere long!
At least he'll have some ideas - even if not all palatable.
ROHAN, Solihull, UK".
Sorry Rohan - but all he's come up with so far are empty PR stunts. His only real job was in PR for a now-defunct TV company. What a waste of an expensive education.

Janet, London,

Matthew, don't be too hard. I would very much like ZanuLab disintegrate before our eyes, bumbling around to cover their tracks. It's happening now, Darling off to the G7 meeting muttering about the IMF being to blame for economic armageddon about to strike.

Please, please, be easy on them - the pleasure of seeing these weasels take the wrap for the destruction of Britain as I knew it as a child (and how I would have liked my children to know it) is just too much joy to miss!

And the likes of Marr, Jackie Ashley, David A and, in particular, Polly Toynbee being made to look the champagne socialists they really are is practically better than the weasels.

Take it easy, David!

Rob, Isle of Wight,

Where has Mr Parris been all this time? Isolated in his Home Counties "parish" ? Labour was ejected at the last election to the Scottish Parliament and an SNP government is now in power. We have known all along that Brown and NU/ScotLab are destitute of ideas, policies appropriate to Scotland and Scotland's needs at Westminster! Take an overall view of politics in the current UK, Mr Parris! The ejection of Brown has already begun! He saw Scotland as his feifdom and his party lost at the last Scottish election. He is already a loser ie lost! The tragedy for England is that ScotLAb ministers dominate English domestic legislation. It is time for England to catch up with the Scottish voter and eject NULAB and Brown at the next election to Westminster. Perhaps the English might want to consider a devolved parliament with a devolved domestic budget and come into line with Scotland and Wales. Then Scots will no more dominate English domestic legislation.

John Edgar, Cupar, Fife, Scotland

Well put Mathew, the media, Nu Labour have all pampered Brown by patting his head, stroking his ego until he really believed in his own policies and destination. The financial market leaders couldn’t believe their luck in how easy it was hoodwink this dithering self interested man. His mistakes are many selling our gold reserves off cheap, ruining private pensions, stealth dishonest taxing, building the economy on a pyramid of house values which are now failing, disenfranchising the young from ever owning their own home, etc. I didn’t consider the Labour party foolish enough to allow Brown to take over, but I was wrong. I can hear and see others now posturing to take over his position, but do they realise it will be leading the opposition party? The fear is when Brown finally realises the games up he’ll do lots more damage just to be vindictive, like moving yet more thousands of English civil servant jobs to Scotland.

Mike, Sheffield,

What a great annihilation and summation of Gordon Brown’s character. MP states that as these character defects are human flaws the British public might forgive them. One yes, but together they add up to a man that should never have joined modern politics. Parris’s bottom line; that the man has no big idea, and means he is left only with ambition, naked ambition, vaunting ambition, call it what you like, it is something the British loath. Or should I say the English loath. Begone Scotland and take your politicians with you.

Grant-Dalton, London, England

Yes, Mr Parris, Blair, Brown, their cronies and the whole Nulab movement have been destructive beyond belief. Now we're practically bankrupt and the streets are becoming increasingly unsafe.

As some texters point out, no new ideas emanating from either main party. Surely, this is the gist of the problem....policitians cause more problems over the years than they fix.

Reducing oil supplies, growing population, computer technology, all are raising mega social dilemmas no politician could even get near to solving, that's why they keep coming up with these cockamamie ideas to fill the void.

We need experts in every field having a major say in how things should be developing, not inexperienced, meddlesome, ambitious, weird eyed, know it all twits. May I say I don't include Frank Fields, Bill Cash, Kat Hoey, Michael Heseltine and others of personal integrity in that remark.

Judge the country's mood Mr Cameron....much needs putting right and quick!!

Shirley Bowen, Blackpool, UK

In response to all questions, Mr Brown replies with how much money he has spent and how it is such an increase over what anyone else would spend. This money is derived from massive increases in taxes over the last 10 years. At no time has this increase in spending been related to improved value. Any fool can increase taxes and spending - it takes someone with a clear vision and talent to ensure it adds value. The UK taxpayer is being taken to the cleaners with this Labour government - it has to stop.

Max, Canterbury, Kent, England

The best chancellor since the Tories left office, lots of tinkering with everything that he could get his hands on and of course selling the countries GOLD, all the Labour Mps who stood back and let this self righteous clown become Prime Minister only have themselves to blame when the shutters finally come down.
He will be remembered as the empty headed prime minister who was the Puppet Master, look at all his Ministers around him, they wouldn't know an opinion if it bit them on the backside, when they come on TV to address the nation they are almost quivering in case they mess up and don't get what the Master ordered, across to the nation.
I don't know why the English people have put up with him and his mafia, all he now wants to do is make decisions for Scotland seeing as they (Labour ) lost power after over 50 yrs, while his good ship the UK sinks.The UK head of defence is attacking Scotland under the guise of being the the head at the Scotland office.What a disgrace! 2 jobs. Why?

Soloman, Stirling,

Unfortunately Mr Parris, Brown does have a plan. His plan is so monstrous that he dare not articulate it in public, hence the apparent vacuum of ideas.

Brown's plan is to sell a broken UK into the EU socialist dictatorship. That is why we were allowed no referendum on the EU constitution, that is why foreigners are permitted to overrun England and that is why all the instruments of a police state are being put in place.

What do Brown and his cronies get in return? Presumably they will get positions of power and wealth in the EU regime, and no need to face any further meaningful elections.

D Rochedale, Liverpool, UK

Matthew,
GB may read your article and dismiss it as malicious, but having read all 66 comments so far, could somebody in the vicinity PLEASE print them all off and nail them to the door of No. 10 so he knows what the PUBLIC think of him.

Nick Downes, Staines

Nick Downes, Staines, UK

GB's decline and with it that of the Labour party demonstrates how it was kept afloat for more than a decade by Tony Blair. He certainly had his faults, but he made Labour electable. Who else has? Harold Wilson in the heady days of the sixties and Clem Atlee when the troops returned from the war. GB's performance demonstrates that Labour are not the natural party of government.

Terry Hamblin, Bournemouth,

Upset by vacuum? On the contrary, determined politicians with clear ideas scare me. I know of no political philosophy which is correct beyond discussion, no new economic approach which will correct all problems - especially in Britain which has already been throughly privatised. Those who promote such ideas are charlatans; the reality of being a thinker in the 21st century is that one should doubt all magic bullets. So when you say Brown has no grand ideas or plans, maybe he is just honest in not having any.

Mark, Munich,

An interesting effort at the studied demolition of someone you wish to see replaced but definitely faulty. You have actually made a good case for cabinet government. It isn t Gordon Brown that is the problem, it is the inevitable result of focusing the attention on one man and of doing so only at the level of personal characteristics and idiosyncracy. Firstly you are bound to be repetitive, and secondly you will inevitably become increasingly critical. Then, what happens if, when you get your Wunderkind, this one gripping sense of political direction is one to which you are wholly opposed? Your political appreciation is altogether unsound. I challenge you to give in your next article an example of the type of super policy you have in mind. I bet you can t.

Henry Percy, London, UK

I supported Labour in 1997 because I believed that they would follow a European style social democratic agenda and, in so doing, create a fairer society with a clear, long term vision for the country. I even allowed myself to believe that vision might eventually extend to a republican, egalitarian, enterprise culture. I was moved to return to Britain in 2000 partly on the strength of these beliefs. Instead, I have witnessed a total capitulation to American style conservatism, a debt-driven asset bubble and the final nails being driven into UK enterprise, in the name of a myth called the "creative services economy". Some tinkering with the House of Lords and a risible 'ban' on foxhunting hardly stands up as a bold agenda. I left again in 2004 and I shall never return. Mr Brown takes much of the blame for this. I agree with Matthew Parris, although perhaps not for all the same reasons.

Phil Elmes, Terrigal, Australia

Unflash Gordon has been the most successful chancellor since the war. It took political courage to make BofE independent which the Torries did not even contemplate in their sleep. That was political bravado.

Nicholas S, Greenwich, Connecticut

I just see a clever and concerned man who is responsible for some corageous policies to help the get many children out of poverty and spread a good deal of good sense and honesty into a seriously dishonest executive. The public want soap operas it seems not solid grind.

Roberts, London,

Gordon Brown - Sold the gold, did away with the marriage allowance the consequences of which we know now evident from the general deterioration of family life, promised endowment and pension policies payouts which never materialised because of his stealth taxes, if someone benefitted good luck to them.

M W, hornchurch, essex

If this man is replaced I still wouldn't vote Labour ever again. They have sold their souls and are now unrecognisable as wanting the common good. They are all cynics, ( Mr 'so what' Balls), and have their own agenda which is enormously bad for Britain.

judy, Liverpool, England

Matthew Paris has hit the nail on the head. He is to be congratulated for cutting through the general media fog and bias, and in doing so is closely aligned with the steadfast common sense of the English people.

The so- called honeymoon for Brown last Summer was simply because he was not Tony Blair. For all his faults, Blair was Prime Ministerial material. Brown, palpably is not. He simply does not have the requiste skills for the job, however worthy his intentions.

He has acquired this position through unbridled ambition on the one hand, and on the other through the chronic weakness of senior Labour party figures who think first for the political interests of their narrowly based party and not for Country. These individuals are now being hoisted with their own petard.

Bring on the next election. The taxi drivers are already confidently predicting the outcome.

Robert Stern, Guildford, UK

Dear Mr Parris,

A few weeks ago, I read a headline that Britain was to engage in a whole new round of building nuclear power stations, to reduce our need for fossil fuel and oil. When I read this, I had to check that it wasn't April Fool's day.

Surely this counts as a bold new idea?

Ian, UK expat in USA,

You cannot get rid of Brown before the election. he is the only guarantee that this government will be crushed at the next election and Nu Labour becomes extinct comminism

john, bath,

Yes, Gordon Brown is useless, no argument. He has surrounded himself with useless people and in just a few short years they have turned the Country into a mess. Can any of you think of any other minister becoming P.M? Election please!

Roger, Surrey,

I love the things you say about the Labour Party.

Roger, Schaumburg, USA

Unfortunately, though, David Cameron is a liability, and the more people see him campaigning and making daft statements about the environment, the more support he will haemorrhage. I suspect we are in for a 1992-style election with an unpopular prime minister winning narrowly against an unelectable opposition leader who cannot connect with his own supporters, let alone people who didn't vote Tory at the last election.

Tony, rochester, UK

I'm not sure it matters who is in number ten anymore. May as well be Mickey Mouse as we are mainly governed by unelected EU dictators anyway!

K Macca , Stoke on T., Staffs

No, Obama has given the US too much of the last thing it needs: the tedious national religion of identity politics. Fortunately, owing to "typical white persons" and the "bitter" working class, he will never be President.

Andrew, New York City, USA

ive always like matthew parris.i enjoyed his progamme about living on benefits in newcastle some time back now.i live in the north east and the west end of newcastle is a utterly depressing place. id like to see gordon brown living on state benefits.he wouldnt have a clue about living on the breadline.

james tovey, south shields, england

If Brown goes who will replace him?If Labour goes,who will replace them?The options are not particularly inspiring are they?This country doesn't so much need a new government as a new party - one made up of competent managers with common sense,a sense of proportion and a proven track record of running large complex organisations.All that's currently on offer are those obsessed with their place in history who,as a result,end up doing things that don't need doing.

Andrew PIttman, Bristol, UK

What great economist sells the countries gold reserves at their nadir? Which nations leader allows Sovereignty to be so easily given away. Which forthright and principled party leader goes back on his governments manifesto? All the same answer and Mathew Parris is right to point out his failings to all who had so far not realised them. Excellent article, well done.

Guy Fothergill, Birmingham, England

Brown is like the NHS: very poor value for money. Both need to be replaced with something more agile.

roger, london,

Turn the clock back to 1997, who would you have as PM - Blair or Brown? It is very unlikely that Brown would have taken the UK to war with Iraq. Most likely he would have sided with the Europeans. Brown does not possess the righteous sense of personal destiny that Blair had: no "legacy" for him, just a competent job done. Had the economic crunch in America not happened, Brown would still lead in the opinion polls. It is too early to dismiss him from the political landscape. Cameron still has to pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat if the Conservatives are to win the next election.

Dwight Vandryver, Scholar Green, Cheshire, UK

I don't want a prime minister with ideas, charisma, ambition, thrust, desire to change the world, invade other countries, etc. I want a prime minister who keeps things in order, sees that rules are applied, and makes the trains run on time.
People with grandiose ideas and ambitions can lead their populace down strange paths. Perplexing that, despite the awful warnings from history, so many people seem to crave a Great Leader. Spare me !

Harry Collier, Malmesbury, England

I must say, Mr Parris is an elegant writer and remarkably perspicacious.

Hugh Wain, Mortimer, Reading,

I don't consider myself intelligent enough to understand the whole business of politics; however it seems clear the majority of British people are very angry with Gordon Brown, his predecessor and the Labour government, so why can't we have a General Election? MPs represent the people (supposed to) and clearly most of them don't. Brown has exhausted the patience of the people and enough is enough. Why should voters wait another two years for things to get even worse when Brown and Labour have lost the confidence of the people? If Mr Obama wins in the US, I just hope it is the catalyst for "change" in the UK. We need inspiration in the UK, we need hope. Obama has given the US something they have never had before, I look with envy that they have someone who dares to be different whilst we have the tired old rhetoric dished up all the time. Brown has abandoned the working class to pander to the middle class and I for one will seek revenge, starting at the ballot box next month.

Paul, West Midlands,

Gordon Brown reminds me of his former Canadian counterpart, Paul Martin. Like Brown, Martin wanted the top job at almost any cost. Unfortunately, when Martin actually got his wish, he was unable to do anything for his electorate and lost the next election. I think Gordon Brown is headed for a similar fate.

Both Brown and Martin are proof of the Peter Principle, the principle that states that people get promoted until they reach a position in which they are incompetent to serve.

Andre, Portland, USA

Surely Brown's problem is that he was so left-wing in his youth that once the nonesense of socialism was exposed, he had nothing else to say. I am sure that he is still a socialist, and socialists have nothing to say in the modern world - hence the thought vacuum.

John Dobson, Otterton, Devon

As a contemporary student in Edinburgh, I too watched Brown from a distance. He is a clever man with a PhD but cleverness isn't enough. There is a gaping hole and it is where principles should be. He used the Labour Party to come to power by making all of the right leftie noises but once in power, he created more quangos, wrecked the pensions industry, allowed the rich to pay no tax, bled the people who worked and gave their taxes to private sector consultants and corporations. He expanded the public sector hugely and gave what was left to those whom he encouraged onto benefit. He supported Blair's plans to set up our surveillance state because he doesn't like people to have freedom as individuals but to depend on the state. He supported the Iraq war. He's pro American like the right wing press. He sulked and plotted until Blair left. A juicy job in big business beckons so he won't criticise China. Now there is that gaping hole in both the public purse and a void of ideas.

ian, nottingham,

Extraordinary. The man has benefited greatly from factors that were really outwith his control as Chancellor. But now that events need his actual input the wheels are coming off.

ps, disagree that his weirdness isn't an issue. The performance on Pop Idol was horrific. Gordon Brown typifies New Labour, talentless and over-rated. Thank God the Tories are finally getting their act together.

Oberon Houston, London, UK

The trouble with the theory that Brown will go before the end of this year is.....who would replace him? Both Blair and Brown assumed presidential powers that will be extremely difficult to change. Both have been careful not to groom successors but rather have steered possibles into cushy jobs in Europe. There's the vacuum.

Ian, Harpenden, Herts

When Labour lose the next election, do people think that the Labour Party will split in two with the Blairites setting up a centre left party, which will become the natural opposition, while the remaining Labour Party goes to the left again?

Mark Hewitt, Essex,

As a one time constituant of Mathews, I agree wholeheartedly with him. As usual he hits the nail firmly on the head. GB is not runing the country, he is running it down.
I look on the Conservative team of Cameron, Davies and Hague, who together are formidable, to pull us up sharpish.

pam , hope valley, derbyshire

You can fool all of the people some of the time? Ah! Got it!

Theo Nelson, South Hams,

GB has unfortunately been part of this incompetent
Government since May 1997.
We all knew how many new taxes he is responsible for,
the sly way they were introduced...... Who on earth expected anything from this arrogant Man?
Just go go go GB and take your Kindergarten with you!!

E. Shaw, Midhurst, W Sussex

Woud you trade GB in for any other world leader?
I doubt it; and there is nobody better in the House of Commons either! Mathew, I feel the flaw lies with you; you wanted to believe that he was a miracle worker and now see in him a vacuum, but one thing for sure, Britain sure needs a miracle worker as there is one hell of a job to do! All the best GB...

lorene, sevenoaks,

You are probably right. What a pity that the Con-socialists have no more convincing alternative to offer than Messrs. Cameron and Osborne.

Gervas Douglas, Andorra la Vella,

Now it is ok to say that Brown misses Blair - and people understand that Blair was the presentational face of Government.

But when will it really dawn that Brown and Blair diverted large sums of money into the NHS and Education, and there has been no equivalent value gained for the money spent. All we are committed to in perpetuity is increased spending without benefits.

We have raised billions more in taxes from stealth sources like Pension Funds, increased Council Taxes, and indirect taxation. It is so difficult to raise more taxation - hence the announcement last year that the 10p rate was going. But that was when Blair was presenting and the rate change "only affected those earning less that £19,000" If Blair had thought it through, he could have added "this will only impact pensioners and the low paid".

Has the NHS budget got any allowances for bandages for bullet wounds to the feet?

Frank Keegan, Alderley Edge,

I totally agree with you . I have "shadowed" Brown since I was at Edinburgh University in the late 60's and observed his rise. He was a typical lefty student politician - you could only be a student politician then if you were left wing- who spent his undrgraduate career plotting away , sitting on committees etc. He then continued as a student politicain as a post grad and then again as student rector.Then off to the labour party , more committees , more plotting etc. He has never had a job! I am sure that english people have been taken in because of his dour scottish nature- they really just cant get the scots . This is why there are so many in Brown's government- english people think they are all brilliant! Being dour and tight is a scottish characteristic shared by half the population and they arent all brilliant.My only confusion reading all the comments is if there are so many like minded people around - why do we keep electing labour governments..........

Andrew, Ramsgate,

Labour benefited from he even deeper emptymess of the Tories.

Alex Pefaure, London, UK

lorene,Sevenoaks...GB honest...I don't think so.This is the man who didn't have the guts to announce he was going to abolish the 10% tax rate.It was just published in the budget report.He was obviously hoping that nobody would notice. I really believe we are in the last days of NU-Labour project.It feels like 1978 all over again.Hope all the public sector workers come out on strike,although it will be the public who suffer.I remember '78 very well.Bring it on ,then perhaps Labout will be in the wilderness for a very long time.They deserve it for the way they have treated the British public.

jan, London, England

What a brilliant piece of journalism, Matthew. You have excelled your self. More of the same please. What about that pain in the neck Ed Balls, his name sums most of him up quite nicely but there must be so much more. Then there's witch Hazel, and what about ect. ect.

D Case, Newquay,

Good point well made. I have always wondered quite what eveidence there is for GB being such a "mighty intellect" as we were constantly being told. I would add that like so many Labour politicians (and increasingly Tories too) he has never had a proper job, never been exposed in the real world as the rest of us have been. This is the major flaw in modern politics, the major disconnection between government and the governed.

Tim, London,

Maybe most of the country south of Berwick don't like him because he's Scottish !

Roddy Nicolson, Shetland, UK

A British Prime Minister in the 21st century needs a clear vision in Europe: Gordon Brown has none.

The European door is open for GB (deliberate pun) to make a mark, but GB still hesitates on the euro and Schengen as if they were not there. Brown is like a little boy frightened to go to the party on his own, and worst turns up late.

And then we have the West Lothian door, but again he does not have the vision, and he does not think it wrong that Scottish MPs vote on English issues.

This is a man that focuses on "Britishness": He has clearly lost the plot... A Scot living in England, who does not understand Europe.

Peter Goddard, Epsom, England, EU

A man with no ideas, EXCEPT to take as much money from hard-pressed taxpayers as possible. A man whom history will damn as the person who destroyed the best pension system in the whole of Europe. Together, Brown and Balls have conspired to redistribute income on an epic scale and to what effect ?? Take a look at England as Labour have made it today...not a very wholesome place to put it mildly.

RM, London, England

Gosh I think you are right. I wondered why my early disappointment with Gordon Brown as PM has now turned to an active dislike. Well done Matthew.

G Joseph, Aberdeen,

I have al\ways believed that Brown should have been out of the door along with Blair & Prescot.
The labour Party had an excellent chance then to start again after the 10 years of petty bickering that went on between Blair & Brown and their acursed spin doctors.
If my kids had went on like that they would have got a clip around the ear.
Sadly, the men in grey suits didn't act and through sheer brute force Brown moved into No 10.
Matthew is quite right, almost a year down the line, we are still waiting to see the wizard work the magic that he led us to believe he had.
He's been rumbled, the hats empty and even the rabbit has done a runner.
Time for Brown to bow out this year along with Bush & Putin and get a Conservative Party and its leader into government.

N. B. leonard, Galati, Romania

In two years time "no more boom and bust" will be up there with "mission accomplished" as one of the all time bests.

Nikolaus, London,

Enter the new John Major - a man doomed to election defeat!

Labour have put their eggs into one basket and the handle is about to break.

Like Bush, Brown is a lame duck - there will be no leadership battle because there is no-one capable of taking the lead.

Chris, Newcastle,

Excellent article - well done Matthew - I do hope Brown reads it as well and looks long and hard in the mirror!!

Patrick Thorpe, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire

I do not disagree with the substance of this Comment, but I would suggest that Mr. Brown has an image problem because he is a Scottish M.P. with considerable powers to affect legislation affecting England. I for one resent this although I have no evidence that he has misused his influence; the fact that he has the influence and could use it is what matters. He has continued the habit inherited from Mr. Blair of having an undue proportion of Scottish M.P.s in his administration.

laurie, tunbridge wells,

This is one of the best pieces of political commentary that I have ever read. Matthew, now would be a good time to ask for a pay rise.

J Kane, Reading,

Matthew will you not put ideas in his head,he could turn into another Crusader.

robert everitt, wolverhampton,

Gordon Brown had one ambition - that to be Prime Minister. Now he is, he does not know what to do, as his ambition has been fulfilled.
One particular issue that indiactes the nature of Gordon Brown is his sitting on the fence when it came to the enlargement of NATO. France in alliance with Germany tried their best to do Putin's doing, by opposing the US. It was the duty of the UK to side with its most loyal ally in war and peace.
NATO has been the main instrument of our security for decades. As Putin's Russia becomes increasingly confident, it was imperative, that the two main countries of NATO - the USA and the UK, stand together. Brown should have led the opposition to France and Germany in Europe, specially in NATO circles, instead of leaving it to the frightened Latvians, Lithuanians etc. Instead, what we had was Brown waffling that he would support any concensus. He thus put Britain in a minor role, when in NATO atleast, it is second only to the USA.

DaveP, Beverley, UK

Well done Mathew. I remember, before he succeeded Blair, when the journalistic cliche was "Don't underestimate Brown", you said: "On the contrary, he should be underestimated".
I note even the leftie journalists have turned on Gordon now. The consensus seems to be, "Let's replace him or we definitely lose the general Election.

john, Guildford, Surrey

Thank you Matthew for speaking out.
You're right.
I often wonder whether we would have been better off as a country if Gordon Brown had simply announced two things on his first working day in power:
1) I'm making the Bank of England independent
2) I'm going to change nothing for the next ten years

We'd have saved all that meddling, bureaucracy, waste, wealth destruction (in pensions), and chopping and changing.

Carl, Brighton,

A "details" man is Brown, not perhaps the best quality in a leader. Look at his pernickety "five tests" to join the euro, allegedly dreamed up in the back of a taxi. Last year he crowed that it had been right for Britain to stay out of the euro. Since then, sterling has collapsed by 20%. Ooops! He was fiddling while Rome was burning.

Andrew, London,

"We're not choosing a flatmate: we're looking for a leader."

Quite so and that is part of the problem: no-one thought it necessary to trouble the voters, nationally or within the labour party and so Buggins Brown achieved his ambition.

Last year, the 'election that never was' ended up being explained away as giving BB more time to set out his vision and let people see what he could do.

British jobs for British workers apart, that explanation must rank as one of the funniest offered. Vision? Dear me. Not only is the 'king' now seen to be sans clothes, he never had any ideas or vision beyond how best to achieve his ambition.

Ok...time's up...can we now have the election?

m collins, Leeds,

The big idea that drives Gordon Brown is Africa!.His index linking of forieng aid,HIs promise to educate 16 million African chidren with little or no help from France,his promise of millions of vaccines to treat malaria.It stems from his father who was a champion of African causes.How much has this government given to African nations since coming to power in 1997?.

julie goodwin, Chesterfield , UK

(I hope he (Brown) reads this.

You have hit the nail square on the head with this article. The is best piece, written by a ‘mainstream’ Journalist that I can recall reading since....(?) …..For a very long time! Thank you for helping to expose this self centred nation destroying fraud.

Benj, London, England

A vacuum, a yawning absence of creativity.

Absolutely on the mark, Gordon Brown has nothing to say that hasn't been said and nothing new in his bean counter brain.

If only there was a credible alternative, then the masses might pause for thought before swallowing his next new initiative or his next review or his next review of the last review of the last problem he caused !

In Scotland you'd just walk away and call him a dunderheed.

RJ, Doncaster, Yorkshire

A fine article - saying what I have always sensed.

Brown is out of touch, reminding me of some naive, idealist undergraduate. Our problems cannot be solved by increased benefits to the underbelly of society and unchecked immigration. His vision, quite frankly, is immoral.

Erik Bloodaxe, Crowborough, UK

Brown has proven that, while he may have been able to take decisions when he had a year to make them (the Budget) he hasn't the wit to take quick and decisive action when required. What we have is a man hugely out of his depth and out of touch - if he'd just get out of government perhaps the country could recover from the massive stall...

Ross Liversidge, Ripon, N. Yorks

lorene, sevenoaks: "He is hardworking, honest and seems to have a genuine interest in the third world"

He should have stick with studying history, then. His absence of economic knowledge i.e. "no more boom and bust" is about to turn the UK into the third world

Ian Mills, Weybridge, Surrey

I rumbled him on the day he became PM, wearing a BLUE tie, Kerr Hardy must have been spinning in his grave.
He has now confirmed his ulta right-wing credentials by doubling the tax that I pay on my already paltry private pension.
A plague on him and his ilk!

Kevin McEntee, Merseyside,

Gordon who? Try Gordon Windmerpool.

Roger T, London,

As a Scot from a working class background, I wish I could be proud rather than pained of our Prime Minister (and my MP). I have no doubt he is devoid of ideas and judgement and should be forced to go soon. Desperate to be popular, with apparent love of both the Artic Monkeys and Gazza's goals against Scotland, the saddest aspect of all goes beyond his control-freakery and obssessive bumbling. It is his abject failure to deliver change, respond to the needs of a modern Britain, including a devolved Scotland (in this respect Brown has done as much for independence as Salmond with his constant interfernce and lack of respect for devolution). It is the same, old, tired menu, of cosying up to arms companies like BAE, trying to stop coroners rightly blaming the MoD for sending soldiers to their deaths with inadequate equipment, bailing out banks with our millions, continuing unjustifiable wars, presiding over sleaze, and hammering ordinary working people whilst our mortgages rocket up.

Al, Scotland,

Brown's problem is he lacks a Plan B and with New Labour's Plan A disintegrating around them, dragging the whole country into potential disaster, Brown has no idea what to do except hold on to power at any cost. Labour may well decide to keep him on as their leader but after the next General Election there is a growing question mark as to whether Brown will even be returned as an MP.

ScottC, Dundee,

Well put, Matthew. To put it succinctly, on this topic - and as a Scotsman - I belong to Parris.....

Douglas, Arlesheim, Switzerland

I have read all your comments today criticising GB.
I have many mistakes in my life and even tried to cover one up today - I bet it fooled some of you!
I apologise for all my past mistakes
I am not yet running GB in the way you all need it running
I agree that I do need to do better in future and will do my best to improve public services in this country.
But one thing I am still convinced of is that "truth is sometimes stranger than fiction" and that a week is a long time in politics.
Hence I always stand up for GB.
Signed
GB of GB

Geoff Bantock, Christchurch,

Where have you Bean all week Matthew?

His big plan is mosquito nets for Africa. Funny, I don't remember that being in the Labour manifesto and the british people having a say in their my taxes being spent in that way...??

MarkS, Leeds,

I have had a similar opinion ever since I first saw Brown 10 years ago emerge from the treasury, where I think this assumption of mastery first formed. He inherited a legacy that virtually nobody could have messed up - it was a golden situation where he just left things alone and magic happened because of the work of the previous government. So shocked and surprised were a rather shallow media that they assumed the success must have been down to the wizard inside and yet it was nothing of the sort - Now the full truth of this is out and those responsible still fail to admit they were hoodwinked all along. Then again I am not a politician or a journalist and not paid to see these things so what would I know ?

Bryan, Totland Bay, UK

Hopefully the cowardly PLP will keep Brown on just long enough to destroy the Labour party keep them out of power for a generation :-)

They've squandered billions and billions of pounds of taxpayers money, taxed us until we're dry, spied on us, criminalised us for minor misbehaviours, and taken us into a disastrous war. I can't wait for them to be consigned to the dustbin of history.

Ian, London,

I hate him because he's a fraud. He wasn't elected by his own party, nor in his own country, nor in ours. He has no mandate to interfere in our affairs, to lie about the referendum, to increase taxes on the poorest earners. He is a squatter in No 10 and should be dismissed as soon as possible

John Ledbury, Kings Lynn, England

'never heard him say...anything new'

- a slightly revisionist slant on the 1997 reforms, Matthew?

David Marusza, Islington, UK

When you came to be Prime Minister Mr Brown you kept on about change, couldn´t have a change of government could we Mr Brown.

paul lewis, bath,

Yes, Gordon Brown has been an absolute disaster. But an even bigger tragedy is that this country has no effective Opposition Party. Windmill Dave has proved a total disaster in every respect and, until the Tories wake up and elect a leader who is actually a Conservative, the country may suffer yet more destruction under Nu-Labour, albeit with a different leader! Anyone for Ed Balls?

Bill Holmes, Derby, England

What will be the defining moment as to when people started to wake up to the fact that he doesn't remotely understand the business of government was the abolition of the 10P tax band. By forcing yet more tax out of the young and single low paid and the majority of pensioners, he now even seems to have forgotten which party he is supposed to belong to.

figurewizard, Petersfield, UK

In God's name save us from this boneless wonder.

victor, London, UK.

I am sorry Matthew, but bfor me it is personal. I dislike the man and I dislike his policies. This man destroyed this country's pension system almost single handed. He taxes us to death and then spends our money as though it was confetti. He is by great strides destroying the fabric of our society by his policies, ban this, ban that, ban everthing that gives pleasure to people. Ten years! It feels like a hundred.

Brian Parsons, Lydney, Gloucestershire

And what, precisely, was Tony's big vision? I can recall in about 1998 or 1999 some people questioned this, and an LSE academic produced some waffle on the "third way" that no-one understood. People shrugged. Tony just wasn't expected to have the vision thing. Why is this a fatal flaw in Gordon? You may in fact be right, but I don't understand why

Ross, Cambridge,

DJS in Seattle
Not sure if I have made a Freudian slip or a pun.
Lording is archaically 'Used as a form of address for a lord'.
Lauding is 'To give praise to; glorify.'
Please can you advise me.
Either way I still believe that 'Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction'

Geoff Bantock, Chrsitchurch,

Thank you Matthew for this forensic dissection, and in particular for highlighting Brown's small mindedness and deviousness, especially as chancellor.

However, it is his failure to understand market cycles which is truly unforgivable - ironic coming from a "son of the manse" as he only needed to refer to the story of Joseph!

Anna Coulling, Woodford Green, UK

He is hardworking, honest and seems to have a genuine interest in the third world. He has had everything thrown at him since moving into number 10. He has inherited from Blair - give him time and he will be great!

lorene, sevenoaks,

All events are converging now. He's a gonner. You need a Churchill in a time of crises and flux. He's just another suit, fighting yesterday's battles.

Churchill had the good sense to see what was in front of him - thank God.

Look at McCain. He is visionary.

joe, Berwickshire, Scotland

The PM is a down played version of the previous PM.He offers nothing new or special and he like Blair is obssessed with human rights for criminals,terrorists and illegal immigrants.Those that work hard and don't break the law and are not spongers are hit with high taxes.The sooner Brown and this government go the better.

regalbacchus, plymouth, england

In an article in the Grauniad about ten years ago, Julie Burchill described Gordon Brown as a 'sex symbol' (every bit as much as she is).

Paul, Coventry,

What you have forgotten to mention Matthew is the embarrassment we ex-pats living in France or other parts of the world endure when we see him on the world stage. Blair was a slippery customer who you felt you couldn't trust but at least the French thought he was a world statesman unlike Brown who looks and acts like a fonctionnaire.

George Sign, Nice, France

No vision or sense of purpose there. You are absolutely right. No-one can remain a leader for long without one.

mike-a, manchester,

Yes, it's good to be wary of men who either claim a towering intellect or more usually have toadies claim it on their behalf.

fred keeling, almunecar, spain

Your early observation just about sums up GB (PM) his "clunking fist" has turned out to be a "ham fist£.
It is quite possible that he has an immense capacity for absorbing facts (so we are told)
Alas, knowsledge is not wisdom.
A brilliant, and influential, Recttor of a University he may well have been,
A powerful and very influential Vice Chancellor in academia. was certainly within his possibilities.
"First amongst equals" in the "cage fighting" of Politics is quite obviously not his calling.

Peter Bolt, Redditch, UK

There were many who said from the beginning of labours reign in 1997, that they would eventually mess it all up. Rewind to 1979 mass inflation mass strikes uk plc facing bankrupt future imf loans record debts!! fast forward to 1997 good economy! inflation figures sound no record outstanding loans. More home owners. Then the con story how the great gordon brown managed the economy! rubbish! civil servants proffesional accountants, the bank of england do the work the minister, justs says yes or no. The previouse government made mistakes but they did graft, and thatcher hate her if you will got uk moving. The upturn in the world economy together with sound economy in 1997, any one could claim the credit. Now we are in a mess we need change

paul, potters bar, uk

As ever, on the button Mr. Parris !
It'll be "our Dave" in No. 10 'ere long!
At least he'll have some ideas - even if not all palatable.

ROHAN, Solihull, UK

No, Ed from Edinburgh. Mr Brown, please *don't* run the country quietly or otherwise. Running the country has resulted in vast wasted taxes that we don't have in reserve, now that they'd be useful. Mr Brown, just go. We're really not the idiots you take us for and even Blairite levels of spin won't change that.

And Mr Cameron. We'll have some respect from you, too, laddie, or you'll go the same way.

P Orphyry, Skipton,

But aren't the Tories just the same? They have abandoned their former policies as well, and replaced them with meaningless gestures.

The first party that comes along with a definite program is likely to take over, no matter what the program is.

We have the same problem in the US. There is a yearning for leadership and ideas of any sort, but no politician is offering anything but incremental dithering.

Jonathan, NYC, USA

Brilliant, as usual. But I'd add one big thing. After 11 years the country has also taken stock of the New Labour experiment and found that we don't like it. Much money spent, but much left undone - or made worse.
I have just driven back from an eerily empty Ikea through the depressing camera-lined, multi-coloured, sign-obsessed street scape and felt very, very depressed.
Micro-meddling in absolutely everything, and still we look abroad on our travels and realise much of Europe lives in a much more civilised way.

J H Holloway, London,

well done parris.
any man,scot or not,who delays implementation of tax changes,presumably in the hope that the victims will forget ,or not man enough to face the flack, is exposed.
perhaps he will wrap himself in the union flag for defence.

john haydon rowe, javea,

I keep hearing about GBs great intellect. The evidence is quite the opposite. If you are going to sell half of the gold stock why announce it in advance?
. My 15 year old grandson would not have done that.

Charles Daniels, Lady Lake, Florida

Mr Parris can afford to gloat. His prescience regarding the Emperor's New Clothes has been well and truly vindicated. And the cravenness, naivety and sycophancy of the rest of the commentariat has been well and truly exposed.

Bravo Matthew - if only people had paid you more heed back in 2005, they could have saved themselves a lot of confusion and disappointment.

Graham L, London, UK

I doubt very much that he'll be removed before the next election (although he may well be removed from No.10 at the next election, but the PLP may keep him on as their leader.)

The Labour party don't have a strong tradition of deposing their leaders, however ineffective, and any young pretender (Miliband, Balls, Purnell?) who launched what then turned out to be a failed coup would be trashed by Brown and sit out the rest of Parliament on the backbenches. The "if you're not in the gang you'll get a kicking” threat you referred to still holds sway in the PLP. Expect him to hang around until 2010.

Chris, Leeds,

Geoff
Mr Brown and New Labour are past the point of no return. The public may just have eventually rumbled New Labour and its principal architect who built the whole monstrous edifice on the shifting sand of no actual principle. New Labour were gifted power, were and are determined to hang on to it at any cost but never had the faintest idea of how to use it for the benefit of anyone but themselves.
Their time is up.

Bernard, Edinburgh, Scotland

I'm not sure this article adds clarity. A man who really did deliver a full decade of growth as Chancellor must be capable of getting something right. And he was nobody's tag-on during that decade. I do agree on one thing though. He focuses too narrowly on details and works himself too hard. He should take a leaf from Ronald Reagan, who spent most of his second term watching cartoons and old films featuring himself in the basement of the White House. An hour a day at his desk is the most any leader should spend.

Paul Flynn, Sai Kung, Hong Kong

For God's sake and ours the sooner the better.

Albert Hall, kettering,

Sorry Geoff, The fag end leader of a fag end government. It's not an epitaph he can recover from.

David Richards, Chester,

I disagree. We need a quiet leader after the 'visionary' Mr Blair. Grand projects and big ideas are usually just egomanic leaders bluster and lead to costly mistakes - please Gordon, just run the country...quietly

Ed, Edinburgh, UK

I think it's a bit scarier than that, Matthew. I remember reading years ago an interview a female, British columnist conducted with JFK. The scary bit was when she said, "His smile was warm enough but his eyes were dead." I have to admit, in fairness, that I've not met GB, but his apparent lack of eye contact and the clawed hand tapping on his notes at the dispatch box I find unsettling. I'm also getting a bit hacked off with "Lessons have been learned", "My vision", and turning up late for Great Britain.

Theo Nelson, South Hams,

I think that you are right, but I wish that he would hang around for at least another twelve months - that should do it!

Morvan, Saulieu, France

Geoff in Chch - the word is 'lauding'

DJS, Seattle, WA

A week's a long time in politics. Perhaps in a week's time you will be lording him. You will then need to replace your fairy story of " the emporer's new clothes" with a new one of "the come back kid". Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.

Geoff Bantock, Christchurch,

Hurrah - the truth at last. Well said.

Philip C, Wallingford, Oxon