GORDON BROWN chose the outside lane of a racetrack to break his silence on the leadership contest. Wearing his red Labour tie and a grin as wide as an Olympic stadium, he said that he was happy to be supporting the UK School Games and Tony Blair — in that order.
“There are questions about what happens in the time to come,” he observed. “I, like others, have had questions myself.” That, if nothing else, won him the gold medal for Understatement of the Decade.
There are two reasons for being on the outside lane, as any seasoned athlete knows. The first is because someone else is blocking your way, and you can’t move into the inside lane, which is where you want to be. The second is because it is the best place from which to launch the final sprint. You bide your time, you wait for an opening, and then you strike.
By opting for Scotstoun Leisure Centre in Glasgow as the venue for his eagerly awaited statement, Mr Brown was not only surrounding himself with symbols of competition and achievement, he was drowning us in metaphors.
He talked to fencers, who lunge at their opponents, ping-pong players, who send small projectiles back and forwards at each other, and he conversed deeply with Sir Steve Redgrave, who trained for years before he became an Olympic champion – five times over. He stood in front of, but modestly did not mount, the victory rostrum, and he walked across the exact spot where the baton is passed, and sometimes dropped, in the 400m relay.
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He also gave everyone the chance to enjoy a running joke. “I’m delighted to see so much support for the UK School Games,” Richard Caborn, the Sports Minister, said, gesturing towards the mêlée of TV cameras, reporters and photographers. “It is most encouraging to see this kind of support for the UK School Games,” Patricia Ferguson, the Scottish Culture Minister, said.
Sir Steve added much the same. And, so far as we can tell, it was the gag that Mr Brown used on his walkabout, because wherever he went, there were gales of laughter. He accepted a gift of two tiny shirts with the UK School Games logo on it for his children, and posed happily with a group of volunteers, who are training to act as officials in the competition, which takes place this weekend.
“This,” said Mr Caborn, “is the start of the legacy for the Olympic Games in 2012. We are investing in the future of sport in Britain, and we have had enormous support from Gordon Brown and Tony Blair.” So when did he think the handover should take place? Mr Caborn was not about to commit himself. “Dates are not what counts,” he said mysteriously, “it is the process that matters.”
And that, it seemed, was what Mr Brown had decided to talk about. He had arrived, like royalty, in a gleaming black Range Rover, followed by a discreet cavalcade of saloon cars. The media, penned behind steel barricades, were patrolled by fit young lady athletes, who made it clear that they would tolerate no indiscipline. Mr Brown, we were told firmly, would be making no political statement. “This is an event to celebrate the achievements of our young school athletes, Mr Brown will not be saying anything to the press,” pronounced a lady from the organisers.
Not for the first time, however, Mr Brown defied convention. After striding past the media pen, ignoring a vain cry of “Does Tony Blair have your full support?” and going on to meet Sir Steve and a crowd of volunteers, Mr Brown turned back towards the media. He was there, he said, to support the Games, but he also wanted to back the Prime Minister, the party and the people of Britain.
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It was not, perhaps, the ideal venue for political analysis. The wind caught at his words, and those of us at the back found ourselves, like the crowd in Life of Brian listening to the Sermon on the Mount, unable to catch every word. “What did he say about private arrangements?’ Is he backing TB or not? Has he mentioned a timetable? Did he say ‘I will support him?’ or ‘I shall support him?’ What was that about ‘difficult times?’ and ‘What exactly does that mean?’” Mr Brown was not inclined to elaborate. Waving aside the barrage of questions, he strode past us all, into the gymnasium, and set about acquainting himself with the art and craft of training to win.
BROWN’S STATEMENT
THIS is the full text of Gordon Brown’s statement:
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‘We are in the unique situation in our country where the Prime Minister has said, as he has said on a number of occasions, that he does not want to lead our party and our Government into the next general election.
As a result of that, there are questions about what happens in the time to come and it is right to say that I, like others, have had questions myself.
But I want to make it absolutely clear today, that when I met the Prime Minister yesterday I said to him, as I have said on many occasions and I repeat today: it is for him to make the decision.
I said also to him, and I make it clear again today, that I will support him in the decision he makes, that this cannot and should not be about private arrangements but what is in the best interests of our party, and most of all the best interests of our country, and I will support him in doing exactly that.
Tony Blair and I have worked together for 20 years and we have done so in difficult times as well as in very good times.
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We continue to work together because we share a determination, both of us, that we will advance and get down to the business of the Labour Government and doing our best by the people of the country.
I am determined that in the months and years to come we continue to do our duty by the people of Britain, and it is my determination and his to do that, that will influence everything that happens in the time to come.’