Goodbye TB. Hello GB. On Wednesday 27 June, Gordon Brown's political ambitions were realised when he became Prime Minister. Following his unopposed election for the leadership of the Labour party the previous weekend, the man who had been the longest continuously serving Chancellor of Exchequer since Nicholas Vansittart (1812-1823), entered Downing Street promising to 'renew' the party in order to meet voters' changing aspirations.
The question on the lips of the media and the public alike (at least those who care) is what will a Brown premiership look like and how will it be different from that of Tony Blair? The clues to answering this riddle are perhaps to be found in the former Chancellor's past.
An intellectual
First and foremost Gordon Brown is an intellectual. Where Tony Blair is intelligent, Gordon Brown is a serious academic. In fact, the UK has just got one of the cleverest Prime Ministers it has ever had.
Born in Giffnock, near Glasgow, Brown went to Kirkcaldy High School, where he excelled and was placed in the academic fast stream. He was accepted to Edinburgh University at the age 16 and graduated with a First Class Honours MP in 1972. In 1982 he gained his doctorate on the Labour Party and Political Change in Scotland 1918-29.
An ideologue
Secondly, Gordon Brown is an ideologue. The new Prime Minister is, as is frequently noted, a 'son of the manse'.
Brown's father was the Rev John Ebenezer Brown, a Church of Scotland minister. The religious beliefs that shaped Gordon Brown's early life have given him a strong moral code and a deep commitment to social justice. Indeed, his major speeches, most notably those on Africa and child poverty, are often peppered with references to injustice. Speaking at the Labour conference in Brighton in 2005, Gordon Brown confirmed that his parents were his 'inspiration' and that they had provided him with a moral compass which taught him that everyone has a duty to make use of their talents.
A determined man
Thirdly, Gordon Brown is nothing if not determined. As a student, he suffered a detached retina, after being kicked in the head during an end of term rugby match. Despite treatment including numerous operations and lying in a darkened room for weeks at a time, he was left blind in his left eye. Later at Edinburgh University, while playing tennis, he noticed identical symptoms in his right eye. After undergoing experimental surgery at Edinburgh Infirmary the eye was saved, ensuring he did not go totally blind. It is through the fire of events such as these that Gordon Brown's character has been forged.
Brown is not Blair but to pretend that he will represent a major break with Tony Blair would be foolish. Brown and Blair came into Parliament together in 1983 and shared an office, at a time when Labour was deeply divided and had won only 27 per cent of the vote under the leadership of Michael Foot. They understood that Labour had to change and they worked together to ensure that it did. The New Labour project was created by them. It was a genuine partnership.
