Brownism

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This article is about politics of the British Labour Party. For the attitudes of English church reformer Robert Browne, see Brownist.

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In British politics, Brownism is the political ideology of the former leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister Gordon Brown and those that follow him. Proponents of Brownism are referred to as Brownites.

Ideology[]

In an opiniated article, Anthony Giddens claimed that in contrast to Blairite, the adjective used to refer to the political ideology of Tony Blair, Brownites tend to be less enthusiastic about market driven reforms such as tuition fees and foundation hospitals and more keen on the role of the state,[1] less critical of Labour's links to the unions[2] and critical of media management techniques such as the use of spin doctors.[2] Will Hutton opined: "Like Tony Blair [Gordon Brown] is a believer in a pluralist and fair society, social mobility, and marrying economic efficiency with social justice".[3]

Relationship to prior administrations[]

See also: Blair–Brown deal

Gordon Brown succeeded Blair as Prime Minister after Brown's long tenure as the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Although viewed in the media as somewhat personally close, Blair later wrote in his autobiography A Journey that a "maddening" Brown effectively blackmailed him while he was in 10 Downing Street. Blair accused Brown of orchestrating the investigation into the Cash-for-Honours scandal and stated that the personal animosity was so strong that it led him to frequent drinking, a big change for Blair. Blair also has told journalist Andrew Marr that as their years working together went on, co-operation become "hard going on impossible".[4]

As stated before, both men had similar positions on actual issues and government policies. To the extent that they felt divided, it came mostly from differences in personality, background and managing style.[5]

Brownites[]

Other than Brown himself, the following prominent Labour politicians are often considered Brownites, but may not identify themselves as such:

Ed Balls
Harriet Harman
Ed Miliband
Anas Sarwar

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "The rise and fall of New Labour". New Statesman. 17 May 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
  2. ^ a b Jones, Nicholas (7 September 2006). "UK | UK Politics | Brownites v Blairites – the full story". BBC News. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
  3. ^ Hutton, Will (21 June 2006). "How to beat Blair: become a Blairite | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
  4. ^ "Tony Blair: Gordon Brown tried to blackmail me". The Daily Telegraph. 1 September 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  5. ^ How to bear Blair: become a Blairite Will Hutton, Guardian Unlimited – Comment is free, 21 June 2006
  6. ^ a b Millie, Andrew, Moral politics, moral decline and anti-social behaviour, People, Place & Policy Online (2010): 4/1, p 7.
  7. ^ a b c : Life at the Heart of New Labour – Peter Mandelson
  8. ^ a b news.yahoo.com/14/20100825 – cruddas-backs-david-miliband
  9. ^ a b Mark Oliver and agencies (11 May 2007). "Who are the Brownites? | Politics". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  10. ^ White, Michael (6 January 2010). "Ballot call over Gordon Brown's leadership – what next?". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  11. ^ Carrell, Severin (20 September 2017). "Scottish Labour candidate Anas Sarwar laughs off 'neoliberal Blairite' tag". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
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