The Game Plan

To look prime ministerial. This is a newer challenge for Gordon Brown than it is for David Cameron, who has had 18 months of practice at Prime Minister’s Questions. Mr Brown, as he rather limply reminded us at one point, has had only five days – oops, make that seven. Odd mistake for a former Chancellor to make.

Perhaps he was nervous. Mr Brown has a distinct disadvantage over Tony Blair, who used to come to PMQs armed with a thick and complex lever arch file, separated with Postit Notes. In it were notes on the Government’s achievements in each individual MP’s constituency, as well as points to make on every conceivable policy area.

But the new Prime Minister is blind in one eye, and relies on large bold typescript. He wouldn’t be able to flick through complicated notes quickly enough. So Mr Brown came armed with a few sheets of paper – and Jack Straw, who prompted him throughout.

In a normal PMQs the participants vie to be the first to put the boot in. This week the anxiety to look prime ministerial meant that they were vying to be the last to put the boot in, the one who could remain statesmanlike the longest.

How It Went

Mr Cameron had a dignified series of questions on the implications of the terror attacks. While wanting to sound statesmanlike and constructive, he also tried to score specific points, notably on why the Government still has not banned the terrorist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir two years after it said it would do.

Mr Brown hadn’t the faintest idea. This wasn’t on his notes. Mr Straw, sitting next to him, did, and whispered in the PM’s ear. Mr Brown said we needed “evidence” to ban them. For the former Chancellor, accustomed to a heavy armoury of facts and detail comprehensible only to him, this must have felt like flying naked.

Gone were the showbiz flourishes of the Blair years; gone the jokes, the boasts, the swagger. There was barely even a soundbite. But you could sense the tiger trying to escape from its cage. At the end of the exchange, Mr Brown finally took a swipe at Mr Cameron, threatening blackly that unless the Conservative leader promised to match Labour funding promises, they weren’t going to be able to agree on anything. Grrr.

The Verdict

As spectator sport, this first clash was disappointing. Perhaps the most damning indictment of the day is that Sir Menzies Campbell was the surprise star. Not only did he throw every Liberal Democrat policy anyone has ever heard of at the new PM (six, since you ask – or five, plus one even we can’t remember), he made a joke! “My door is always open to you,” Mr Brown had said. “Your door is more of a trapdoor,” said the Ming so wounded by talks with Mr Brown on joining his Government last week. Oh, how we laughed! Yes, that’s how bad it was.

No one is going to score a knockout blow asking questions on terrorism. The gap between them wasn’t vast. But a leader of the Opposition will relish being able to make the Prime Minister fumble, even if it’s on an unrepresentative first outing.

So it’s David Cameron – by a whisker.

Expert advice

“ Brown was fighting his natural instincts to use the clunking fist, playing the unifying statesman, and this worked fine for a first time but we need some light and shade in his performance. We need the clunking fist to get the troops on board and put Cameron back in his place. His advisers need to help him speak over the noise, because he hears it more than us, and we see him hesitating and stuttering for no reason. He looked the part, and he didn’t use his fake smile today, which is better than looking uncomfortable. But the repetition and disfluencies in his speech are so undermining because they send out the wrong message.” Peter Collett, body language expert

“ Everyone thinks that acting is lying, but a great actor must be rooted in truth. So many politicians are just professionals, used to preparing answers, but this is like learning lines without understanding them. Brown performed like someone who is keen to get on with the job, but for me he needs to find his political soul – he has one – in order to take the audience on a journey. Jokes are always risky, but you are going to have to make some mistakes if you are going to succeed. Lacking Blair’s gushing sentiment is fine – the public are worn out by that, and an actor must read the audience.” Sam Rumbelow, method acting coach

“ Mr Brown’s habit of dropping his jaw deeply to draw in breath probably has a physiological cause but draws attention away from his message. He would do well to change his habit of emphasising points with overly frequent nods of the head. Constantly bouncing at the neck – the lift shaft in which the voice box should be able to rise and fall safely – will cause vocal strain over a period of time. The steamroller technique – an old habit of his – where you do not take any obvious breath pauses, crept in when he answered a question from Mr Cameron. On the whole this was the voice of a man at ease with himself but definite in the decisions he had made.” Janet Howd, voice coach

“ It became evident that Mr Brown is taking advice on how to be less strident and more user-friendly. This is a high-risk strategy. What he should be doing is playing to the strengths that earned him respect as Chancellor, such as being consistent and straightforward. Up against Mr Cameron he lacked confidence as he concerned himself about his image rather than about his policies. It was also a textbook sign of weakness to excuse his responses by saying he’d only been in the job five days. When it came to later questions he seemed to gain some of his straightforward charm, but his fluctuating personality poses that dangerous question: Who is Gordon Brown?.” Lee Bowman, chairman of strategic communications consultancy Kingstree

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