Intellectual, moody, and with an uneven temper, Gordon Brown has been viewed as a successful Chancellor of the Exchequer but less successful as Prime Minister. Unwilling to take advantage of an extended honeymoon period, he failed to call an election which most commentators, and many of his colleagues, thought he would win.
Thereafter, the problems mounted. He failed to respond to the public’s anger over the MPs' expenses scandal, merely suggesting that the civil service should consider the matter at a later stage. When Chancellor Alistair Darling warned that the Credit Crunch would cause a recession, he appeared to deny the scale of the crisis. Backing the Americans over the Europeans he favoured bailing out the banks at considerable public expense. In the 2010 election campaign, although Labour lost, at least he had the satisfaction of denying David Cameron’s Conservatives a working majority.
This lecture is part of the 'One-Term Prime Ministers: Their Reputations Revised?' lecture series, taking place on Fridays from 30th January 2026 to the 6th March 2026. You may either register for individual lectures or the entire lecture series at a reduced price.
This lecture will close to enrolments at 23:59 GMT on 24 February 2026.