The Prudence of Mr. Gordon Brown
Chapter One
A prudent background
Gordon Brown's father, in common with many members of his
generation, had been horrified by the levels of unemployment
and the degree of poverty that prevailed in Britain during the
1920s and 1930s. He welcomed the election of the Attlee Labour
government in 1945. His second son, James Gordon Brown, was
born on 20 February 1951, eight months before the second Attlee
government went down to defeat at the October 1951 General
Election.
The young Gordon's formative years coincided with what Harold
Wilson used to describe as 'thirteen wasted years of Tory misrule'.
His father, a Church of Scotland Minister, was not politically active
but inculcated into his second son a strong sense of social justice and
civic duty.
'He taught me to treat everyone equally, and that is something I
have not forgotten,' the future Chancellor observed.
As a son of the manse, Gordon Brown was also brought up
with a strong sense of the Protestant work ethic. Many Labour
supporters were to be surprised in later years by the impression
that, having poured scorn on the Conservatives in opposition,
Brown seemed to accept much of the 'Thatcherite Settlement'.
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