FactCheck: Ask the PM - Gordon Brown answers questions on YouTube

It was launched to a fanfare of publicity in May. Gordon Brown invited video questions from the public, and would post responses by the end of June, Downing Street's YouTube page promised.

And promised, and promised, and promised, until the second week of July. Finally, Brown's video answers were posted today.

He may have missed the deadline, but did he nail the facts?

The analysis

I would do nothing to remove or restrict the likes of freedom of speech and freedom of expression, the PM tells us sincerely.

But the first example he chooses to illustrate this - the right to protest outside parliament - reflects rather less well on the free speech aspirations of the New Labour project as a whole.

The government in which Brown was chancellor brought in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. Sections 132-138 of this, which restricted the right to protest around parliament, were criticised by civil liberties campaigners. One-man protest camp Brian Haw, who had demonstrated outside parliament since 2001, was removed by police under the law in 2006.

On 3 July 2007, back in that honeymoon wave of new leadership, Brown pledged to "change the laws that now restrict the right to demonstrate in Parliament Square". True to his word, in March this year Justice Secretary Jack Straw announced a draft bill proposing the repeal of sections 132-138 of SOCPA.

So what Brown says is true - but as the increase effectively binned the contentious part of a law his government introduced, it's not quite the great charge for freedom his answer would suggest.

The source
Oral statement on draft Constitutional Renewal Bill and White Paper, 25 March 2008

The analysis

Brown lights up in response to a "great" question on why, although as yet untested in a general election, he should be in charge of the country. The chance to help everyone make the most of their talents, he says, is what gets him out of bed in the morning.

It's a cheerier and more selfless picture than the answer he gave to the Commons liaison committee last week:

"This is the best job in the world, and it is the best job in the world because plenty of other people are wanting this job."

The source
Uncorrected transcript of oral evidence, liaison committee, 3 July 2008

The analysis

Changes to vehicle excise duty (car tax) are in the spotlight again today after the government admitted around 8.8 million drivers would be worse off from April 2009, when higher duty kicks in on the most polluting cars.

The government's line - from which Brown has deviated - is that the majority of drivers would be better or no worse off under the plans. But this means that a sizeable minority - now confirmed as 43 per cent - will lose out in real terms.

Not all of these rises will be huge - although those at the top of the scale do face increases of up to £230 a year. There are also doubts about how green a tax the measure actually is, as Channel 4 News reported last week.

The analysis

They're free to, but "the fact is that very few people receive the maximum sentence of four years," home office minister Vernon Coaker told parliament last month.

The source
Knife crime, House of Commons, 5 June 2008

The analysis

Brown doesn't quite spell out that "prison works", Michael Howard-style, but he does show off about how tough the government is on crime.

The prison population has increased pretty heftily under Labour, and in fact, there are already more people locked up than Brown suggests: 83,330 last week according to the prison service.

The source
Population bulletin: weekly, 4 July 2008

Your views

You've read the article, now have your say. We want to know your experiences and your views. We also want to know if there are any claims you want given the FactCheck treatment.

Email factcheck@channel4.com

FactCheck will correct significant errors in a timely manner. Readers should direct their enquiries to the editor at the email address above.

Share this article

Send this article to a friend »

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Reddit
• Facebook
• StumbleUpon

What are these?