Peter Jackson column

Feb 8 2007 By Peter Jackson, The Journal

Tony Blair is said to be much concerned about his legacy as Prime Minster, about what he will leave behind him and how he will be remembered.

It becomes clearer by the day how history will view him, at least in the short term, but what of the man who would be king - Gordon Brown? Will his reputation as the Iron Chancellor and the arch advocate of prudence long survive his departure from Number 11 Downing Street?

Certainly there are warning signs that for whoever steps into Gordon's shoes the ride will not be so smooth.

Debt-related problems are rising along with interest rates. Last year the number of people declared insolvent in England and Wales rose to a new record of 107,000, a rise of 59% on the year before. And the number of house repossession orders made by county courts in England and Wales against those who could no longer make their mortgage repayments was up 29% to 91,200.

But there have been such clouds on the horizon before and they have dispelled, leaving the Chancellor and his forecasts vindicated and his reputation for careful Scottish economic stewardship intact. Gordon Brown does not, however, deserve such a reputation. He may have many qualities, but canny economic and fiscal management cannot be numbered among them.

In 1999, the price of gold was US$275 an ounce. At that point Gordon sold 60% of Britain's gold reserves held by the Bank of England. Nobody was entirely sure why he did it. There was no pressing reason for doing so, unless it was to shore up the euro, in which he invested a third of the proceeds of the gold sale.

Whatever the reason, he contrived to sell off so much of our gold at a time when its price was at a 20-year low. The price of gold is now US$648 an ounce and Gordon's transaction has cost us about £3bn.

This is small potatoes compared to the £100bn which independent research suggests has been lost to the value of pension funds as a result of his removal of tax credits on share dividends in his first budget of 1997. It looks as though there will not be any legacy at all from Gordon Brown - because he has squandered it.