If gordon brown is the anointed successor to Tony Blair, then he owes it principally to his prowess as chancellor of the exchequer. Labour won the May general election by campaigning on its economic record. Tony Blair lauded his colleague as probably the most successful chancellor in 100 years. Mr Brown, who doesn't do modesty, said that he was presiding over the longest period of sustained economic growth in 300 years. Such claims were a hostage to fortune. The worry for the chancellor is that his record will deteriorate as he waits impatiently for Mr Blair to step down. Mr Brown said in his conference speech on September 26th that he wanted to revitalise New Labour, but that lofty ambition, whatever it means, will be harder to realise if the economy starts to founder.
展开▼
