How Gordon Brown contributed to Tory austerity policy | Letters
Gordon Brown is right to lambast the architects of fiscal austerity for killing off the recovery brought about by the prompt and coordinated efforts of the G20 governments to prevent a rerun of the Great Depression (World is 'sleepwalking to a new financial crisis', says Brown, 13 September). But why did the progressive left in Britain fail to repel the fiscal conservative backlash? One contributory factor was Brown's ill-judged decision to step down as leader of the Labour party when he resigned as prime minister after the 2010 election.
This unforced error precipitated a Labour leadership election that left the incoming coalition government unchallenged at a critical time and was compounded when Brown's successor, Ed Miliband, appointed Alan Johnson as shadow chancellor, instead of the better qualified Ed Balls. By the time that mistake had been corrected, it was too late: the public had accepted the case for fiscal austerity.
David Purdy
Stirling