A winning message: Gordon’s intimate campaign setting

By Alex Smith

I’ve just got back from a great campaigning event, at which Gordon Brown told his personal story of his and the government’s role in handling the economic crisis, from 2008 through last year.

Introduced by Gloria de Piero, the former GMTV presenter and now PPC for Ashfield, the audience was made up of businesspeople, economists and young people, and was dotted with Alistair Dalring, David Miliband, Harriet Harman, Yvette Cooper and Peter Mandelson, who also gave answers to some of the audience’s questions. Broadcast live on Sky News and online, the party say this was the first of its kind in a British general election.

For readers of LabourList, the format was a familiar one: it was based on the TED speech Gordon gave last summer, of which I said at the time:

“This is Gordon Brown the visionary, set free from the constricts of Westminster. It’s the Gordon Brown that abhors injustice and poverty, who has the analysis, values and guts to confront challenges with vigour and determination.”

Tonight, talking about how Labour’s action and values helped people come through the recession, the PM gave another very impressive and well received performance, and was greeted with a standing ovation.

There’s no video of the event yet, but it’s worth watching the TED speech again in the meantime: