 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 | ||||
Brown wins few friends as he cuts to the... |
Brown wins few friends as he cuts to the quick
TOM BALDWIN speaks to British Chancellor Gordon Brown and finds out that he is one of the most serious politicians on the planet
The rest of his answer consisted of a 400-word monologue listing the government's economic achievements to date and setting out the course for the future. Gordon Brown is one of the most serious politicians on this planet. He likes hard work and does not like frippery. "You're not going to ask me about that book, are you?" he said as he sat down and noticed that on the table in front of him was a copy of the latest literary revelations about him. "I don't talk about books; we are here to discuss the economy," he added. Indeed, he was determined to talk about nothing else. Yet he cannot deny that the two biographical accounts published about him in the past six months have, within the Westminster soap opera, turned him into a much talked about figure. A breathless public has learnt of the Chancellor's lingering resentment towards Tony Blair over the succession to the Labour leadership, his hatred of Peter Mandelson, the behind-the-scenes dramas and trauma of his first year in the Treasury, his loves, his hopes, his fears. Brown detests such stories and the attention they have created. "Whatever you do, don't ask him about Sarah Macaulay, his girlfriend and, it is whispered, possibly bride-to-be, it will drive him up the wall," was the advice given to the Sunday Telegraph before the interview. A more tactful question, asking him if he would like another book written about him, was met with a long silence and, eventually, a mumbled answer: "There have been no authorised biographies. Anybody saying they were authorised is talking rubbish." The Chancellor is keen to draw a line under such personality politics - it has overshadowed too much of the first year in power. Each dot and comma of every public announcement is analysed for signs of division between Blair and Brown. Is it true, as widely reported, that he has blocked the Prime Minister's plan to appoint Mandelson as the head of a beefed-up Cabinet Office? The promotion would have given his arch rival a powerful new role as progress-chaser across Whitehall and caused further tension between the Treasury and Downing Street. "There are lots of things that are widely reported and I have never commented on them. I am not getting into a discussion on the reshuffle, that's not a matter for me, it's a matter for Tony Blair," said Brown. Hardly a denial, but at least the Chancellor eschewed the opportunity to fan the flames of his feud with Mandelson.
Last year Brown upset Cabinet colleagues by forcing them to accept a pay freeze. The issue may be raised again and Brown was stony-faced on the subject. "Everybody's got to be responsible," he said, "it's a matter for the Prime Minister." Nor is he afraid to make enemies out of one-time allies. Earlier this year he upset trade union leaders and Margaret Beckett, the President of the Board of Trade, by seeking to limit the minimum wage for young people. The short shrift given last week to a TUC delegation pleading for higher spending and public sector pay rises has cemented the view that he may not be the worker's friend. In this interview he also made it clear that he plans to ruffle feathers in the business world as well, where low productivity, and high wage rises - including large salaries for directors - are fuelling inflationary fears. The Chancellor is considering the publication of a league table which would "name and shame" the worst offenders. "The public have both the right and the need to know where we are in the productivity deals," he said.
Yet for all his ability to attract hostility, and in spite of the tit-for-tat briefing wars revolving around Downing Street, the Treasury and Mandelson's camp, the bond between Blair and Brown remains strong. They may find themselves thrown even closer together in the months to come if the ominous clouds on the economic horizon produce the threatened recession. The Treasury's "planned economic slowdown" may produce a sharp rise in unemployment and a growth rate lower than those confidently forecast by the Chancellor, while inflation may eat away at the extra money allocated on health and education. Brown has to get it right or see the Government's entire programme fall apart. He reiterated that all his plans are based on the "most prudent and cautious assumptions" and that the growing difference between his forecasts and those of the City are not matched by a gap "opening up between the Treasury and the real world". Stung by Tory criticism that his spending plans will lead to higher taxes or borrowing, he said: "In the Eighties we were taught to believe that you could have prudence but that you could never have decent public services for health and education and that somehow you had to cut investment in those areas. What we are showing is that if you are ruthless in the way you use resources . . . then you can actually have the prudence that is necessary." But the Chancellor knows that the high levels of wage inflation could still destroy everything. The latest book on the Chancellor, Gordon Brown: the First Year in Power, by Hugh Pym and Nick Kochan, claims that his economic adviser has been studying a "tripartite arrangement which brings unions, employers and the Government together to decide on an affordable pay increase". The Treasury team throw their arms up in horror at the mere suggestion. Brown will not return to the incomes policies of the past - the corporatist "beer-and-sandwiches" approach - that collapsed amid the chaos of the death-throes of the last Labour government. "Corporatism was about people behind closed doors making compromises not for the national interest, but to suit their own vested interests," said the Chancellor. "It never involved the people; it was only involving sectional groupings." But he does want to end the "sterile conflicts of the past" and the "I'm-all-right-Jack attitude" still shown by unions, bosses and investors. "There are things that government, business and work forces can do together to make for higher productivity." Brown has already brought all sides together for round-table talks on how to develop "the sense of shared national economic purpose that is necessary for a country to be at its most successful". He says Britain's productivity could be as much as 40% lower than that of America, and in some sectors, 10 or 20% behind France. Last week Rover blamed government economic policies for its decision to axe 1 500 jobs, but Brown believes the management should take its share of the blame, saying there are lessons to be learnt from the success of Japanese-run car plants in this country. He plans to lead a cultural revolution in business to remove barriers to better productivity, not just by exhortation but by fundamental changes to tax and competition law. He confirmed that such changes will be set out in the next pre-Budget report this autumn, when he will herald tax breaks for innovation or research and development, as well as other fiscal measures "to improve skills and corporate governance". Brown says: "We are looking at the venture capital industry as well. We are determined that we can get the benefits of high-tech developments in Britain." There is also likely to be a shake-up in competition law that would create an independent arbiter to decide whether takeovers and mergers should go ahead, in a move similar to that which freed the Bank of England to decide interest rates without government interference. It is a package of measures that, without direct state control, will give Brown his best chance of stemming inflation and boosting growth. Brown's latest project is critical to not only his own, but also the Government's success. The economy is on the slide; if it has a hard landing then his many enemies will be queuing to insert the knife. At the end of the interview, Brown grudgingly confirmed that he was planning to take a holiday next month with Macaulay in Cape Cod, on the east coast of America. Inevitably, his bags will be stuffed with sober and weighty Treasury papers and work-in-progress. The summer holiday may not be much fun for Macaulay, but, if nothing else, no one can fault the Chancellor's own productivity rates. - The Sunday Telegraph. Top of page
|