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InBritish politics,Brownism is thesocial democratic political ideology of the formerPrime Minister and leader of theLabour PartyGordon Brown and those that follow him. Proponents of Brownism are referred to asBrownites.
Brownism is understood byAnthony Giddens and others as asocial democratic ideology, characterised by its distinction from the ideology ofNew Labour underTony Blair, with Brownism generally understood as tolerating less enthusiasm about market driven reforms such as tuition fees and foundation hospitals, more keen on the role of the state,[1] and less critical ofLabour's links to the unions.[2] Compared toBlairism, Brownism places more emphasis on constitutional reform, advancing ideas of a "new constitutional settlement", alongside a "robust concern for redistributive politics" with commitments to reducing poverty and expanding the welfare state;[3][4]Will Hutton opined: "Like Tony Blair [Gordon Brown] is a believer in a pluralist and fair society, social mobility, and marrying economic efficiency with social justice".[5]
Brownism retains much of the economic pragmatism ofNew Labour, characterised by commitments to liberalised markets and "responsible capitalism", with light-touch approaches to financial regulation and tax. Brownite pragmatism was demonstrated during the 2008 Financial Crisis which occurred during thePremiership of Gordon Brown, with the UK Government response comprising the nationalisation of theRoyal Bank of Scotland,Lloyds TSB andNorthern Rock – with both conservative and left-leaning governments worldwide following this approach.[4] Brown described "the values of fairness, stewardship and cooperation" as underpinning this approach to markets, and has criticised the "weaknesses of unbridled free markets".[6]
On foreign policy, Brownism is characterised by "complexity, inter-connectedness, and cooperation", with focuses on improving globally under-developed regions, improving human rights, and globalsocial justice – particularly throughinternational aid.[7][8] Brownism is additionally characterised by significantly greater hesitance towardsliberal interventionism compared toBlairism, with focuses on foreign policy advanced through cooperation, and hesitance towards conflict. It emphasises "duties to discharge and responsibilities to keep" where conflict does take place, and places greater distance towardsUS foreign policy, while retaining commitments toAtlanticism.[7]
Brownism has been described as lacking an "ideological narrative", something that has been said to have damagedGordon Brown's "credibility asLabour leader". This has meant that scholars and observers have been able to describe Brownism asneoliberal, while others have described it associal democratic.[4]
Gordon Brown succeededTony Blair as Prime Minister after Brown's long tenure as theChancellor of the Exchequer. Although viewed in the media as somewhat personally close, Blair later wrote in his autobiographyA Journey that a "maddening" Brown effectivelyblackmailed him while he was in 10 Downing Street. Blair accused Brown of orchestrating the investigation into theCash-for-Honours scandal and stated that the personal animosity was so strong that it led him to frequent drinking, a big change for Blair. Blair also has told journalistAndrew Marr that as their years working together went on, co-operation became "hard going on impossible".[9]
Blair criticised the departure from much ofNew Labour ideology underGordon Brown's premiership, who blamed it forLabour's defeat in the2010 General Election:
Why did Labour lose the 2010 election? The answer to that, I'm afraid is obvious. Labour won when it was New Labour. It lost because it stopped being New Labour...Had he [Brown] pursued New Labour policy, the personal issue would still have made victory tough, but it wouldn't have been impossible. Departing from New Labour made it so. Just as the2005 election was one we were never going to lose, 2010 was one we were never going to win – once the fatal strategic decision was taken to abandon the New Labour position.[3]
Other than Brown himself, the following prominent Labour politicians are often considered Brownites, but may not identify themselves as such:
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