Brown's scorn for 'gameshow' Clegg

Sunday, 2 May 2010 12:00 AM

By politics.co.uk staff

Gordon Brown has revealed the full extent of his distaste for Nick Clegg's television popularity.

Speaking in an interview with the Observer newspaper, the prime minister - whose Labour party has slipped behind the Lib Dems in the polls - said he felt the third party's policies could have been put together on a night out with friends.

"I mean, you know, when you actually look at their economic policy, these regional caps on immigration, this amnesty for illegal immigrants, this tax policy that's built on £4.5 billion coming from tax avoidance, it's the sort of stuff that you do when you're at a dinner party looking at your policies and writing them on the back of an envelope," he said.

"We're talking about the future of our country. We're not talking about who's going to be the next presenter of a TV gameshow. We're talking about the future of our economy."

Mr Brown said he was a "serious man" who was the only leader confronting the "brutal truth" of spending cuts under a Conservative government.

"They would take away tax credits from a million people. So, they take away people's consuming power, their spending power. You take money out of the economy; that means that people have less to spend," he warned.

"It means that people buy less. It means that retail is affected. It means that all sorts of things happen as a result of that."

Special event coverage

ESRC logo

Festival of Social Sciences: Celebrating the Social Sciences

Evidence-based policy should not be a radical concept. It needs to be celebrated.

ESRC logo

Festival of Social Sciences: 2 languages: 2 brains, 2 minds, 2 cultures?

As part of the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences, the Deafness Cognition And Language Research Centre (DCAL) hosted an event exploring the powerful benefits of bilingualism in spoken and sign languages, for hearing and deaf people alike - benefits that reach hearing and deaf people alike.

Opinion Former Events

Voice: Feeling stressed? Understand yourself? Now, move forward Conference

Application forms are now available for an exciting conference in Manchester. The fun-packed day will give you practical solutions and advice on managing stress and time to help you achieve a work/life balance.

BHA: The Marriage Debate - ‘This house would legalise same-sex marriage in England and Wales'

Two weeks before the Government’s consultation on same-sex marriage draws to a close, Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of the British Humanist Association is participating in a debate hosted by Catholic Voices on the motion, ‘This House Would Legalise Same-Sex Marriage’.

BSIA: Information Destruction Exhibition and Conference

This one-day event is targeted at professionals operating in the information destruction industry, and aims at keeping delegates updated on recent developments in their sector, providing an opportunity to network with fellow professionals, whilst offering access to an informative exhibition and a comprehensive conference programme.

ABI: The Future of Long-term Savings & Retirement Income - Automatic Enrolment and Beyond Conference

The Future of Long-term Savings & Retirement Income - Automatic Enrolment and Beyond Conference

Take the Gold Challenge for St Dunstan's

We provide lifelong support for blind and visually impaired ex-Service men and women. You can help give more blind heroes an independent future by taking the Gold Challenge

TACT: 2013 Virgin London Marathon

Join TACT at one of the greatest sporting events on the planet and help give a child in care a future to smile about.

Newsletter sign up

By signing-up you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy.

Unsubscribe