We not only saved the world
| ||
---|---|---|
Shadow Chancellor
Chancellor of the Exchequer
Policies
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Post–Prime Minister
|
||
"We not only saved the world" is a statement uttered by the
The statement was a
Background
Brown had attracted international praise for his actions in the wake of the
Context
The comment occurred during an exchange with the Leader of the Opposition, David Cameron, in which Cameron asked Brown about the resumption of lending to British businesses during Prime Minister's Questions on 10 December 2008.
Cameron asked whether Brown accepted that "his recapitalisation has failed" following
Aftermath
The BBC's political correspondent David Thompson wrote that "It was only a slip of the tongue...The problem is, a lot of people suspect Gordon Brown might actually believe it" and that the comment gave Cameron "a priceless opportunity to accuse [Brown] of being more concerned with grandstanding on the global stage than dealing with the fears of small businesses and homeowners".[1] The parliamentary sketch writer Ann Treneman wrote in The Times the following day Brown "seems increasingly distracted these days and yesterday, as he scanned his briefing papers, he looked unprepared" and Brown's comment "...brought screams of joy from the Tories. The PM looked irritated. A Mexican wave of hysteria was engulfing the Commons while Gordon Brown stood, as stony faced as a statue. The Cabinet was doing its best not to laugh".[5] Sketch writer Simon Hoggart wrote in The Guardian that the comment may have been a Freudian slip, and added that Brown was buried under a "sudden, overwhelming mountainous avalanche of laughter" and "hooting derision, chortling, spluttering, screeching and general mayhem filled the Chamber like oil in a lava lamp, bubbling and swirling". The laughter lasted for 21 seconds which Hoggart described as "an age in Parliament" and that Brown tried to plough his way through but was "hopeless at snappy comebacks".[6]
The Liberal Democrat MP Susan Kramer said that her fellow parliamentarians "roared with laughter" at the comment because "you can practically see him [Brown] getting into the Superman outfit" before he enters the House of Commons.[1] The Labour Party MP Patricia Hewitt said that the comment would "[excite] people in Westminster" for a couple of hours and that Brown himself had been smiling after it. Hewitt also described Brown as a "commanding figure" and that the British public like their Prime Ministers to "perform well" on the 'world stage'.[1]
The economic journalist Anatole Kaletsky wrote that "Gordon Brown has saved the world yet again" in an article praising Brown for his appearance at the World Economic Forum of 2009 in Davos, Switzerland.[7]
The economist William Keegan titled his 2012 book about Brown Saving the World? - Gordon Brown Reconsidered.[8]
References
- ^ a b c d e "The Full Story: PM's questions". BBC News. December 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-01-18. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ Sylvester, Rachel (14 October 2008). "Brown's boom will end only in another bust". The Times. No. 69454. p. 27. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
- New York Times. 13 October 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ "Oral Answers to Questions Volume 485: debated on Wednesday 10 December 2008". Hansard. Archived from the original on 2021-05-04. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ Treneman, Ann (14 October 2008). "Gordon beats his breast as the man who saved the world". The Times. No. 69504. p. 27. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-85265-261-9.
- ^ Kaletsky, Anatole (14 October 2021). "Why I would back the Prime Minister for a Nobel Prize". The Times. No. 69548. p. 27. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-907720-56-7.