Jason Cowley

'He must become the heavyweight he used to be'

Sunday Mirror, January 3rd 2010

For much of the past 18 months Gordon Brown has resembled a great heavyweight champion who has spent too long in the ring. He once thought he was master of all he surveyed ("I have abolished boom and bust," he boasted) but too often recently he has been on the ropes, taking blows from men of the kind he once swatted aside.

So what can be done? First, he has to remain Prime Minister for the next two or three weeks and see off one last, incipient rebellion.

Then he must remember what it was that gave New Labour purpose. It's too late, sadly, for a radical realignment of centre-left politics. But it's not too late to lay out a vision of the future, of why he should have five more years in power.

It's essential for him to be much more robust about defending Labour's record. He must remind the country of the good that has been done since 1997, such as the introduction of the minimum wage and the saving of the NHS from neglect.

It's easy to forget what a commanding Commons performer Brown once was: witty, quick, devastating. Before Christmas, we glimpsed something of the old Gordon as he forcefully took the attack to the Tories. We need more.

With the exception of David Cameron, the Tory front bench is unimpressive – and geeky. Cameron, Osborne, Gove, Grayling: these guys have run nothing and have little experience of the world beyond Westminster, as revealed by their poor judgement calls throughout the economic crisis.

Their policies must be vigorously scrutinised and exposed. One last thing: Gordon should smile only when he wants rather than when he thinks he ought to.

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