Reaction: Delegates praise Brown
Delegates at the Labour party conference in Manchester have reacted positively – mostly – to Gordon Brown’s speech.
We bring you some of the views from outside the conference centre.
Tom Edwards, Musicians Union: “I was very impressed, I was very moved. I think he delivered. There was a big improvement on last year. But his style. you’ve got me there. I think he comes over as very human.”
Lynn Turner, Brighton Kemptown: “I thought it was brilliant. He’s had a very stressful time recently – it’s not that easy standing in front of not just a load of us but the whole country waiting to see how you’re dealing with things. I thought he looked like a man to get us through a bad time – a global bad time.
The general feeling is people are really very much behind him now.”
David Harrison, Mansfield: “Presentation – ok. Content – as you would expect. Vision – was a bit of that. There was a little bit of money to spend. Will it buy him any time? I don’t know. He did do enough for today. But I think longer-term but certainly from the people I’ve been talking to coming out, he’s still got a lot to do.”
Ben Bano, Dover: “I never thought there would be any problems, I thought it was magnificent. The delegates gave Gordon a huge show of confidence and all the speculation about trouble – I never really thought there’d be any so I was absolutely delighted. He was himself and I think he made that very plain. He’s a serious man for a serious time.”
Jenny Sanders: “I thought it was a great speech. I thought it was very encouraging and uplifting and I thought he did well.”
Marie Loewe, east London: “I loved the health policies, loved the education policies. We don’t need leadership speculation at the moment. We need to focus on the country. The media should stop speculating about it – it’s not the story any more.”
Helen Goodman, Bishop’s Auckland: I thought it was absolutely fantastic. He showed precisely why he’s the right person to be the prime minister at the moment. That’s not just because he’s got experience – it’s because he’s got principles and values and that’s really what you need to steer a steady course through a very turbulent situation. That really showed people what sort of person he is and what this government is about.
Katy Simmons, Beaconsfield: “I think it will move people forward to look at what’s really important. He’s a man of great commitment and great talents and I think he should just get on with the job. I’m a supporter. I think what he said was clearly the truth.”
