Gordon Brown's politics of emotion
Updated on 12 February 2010
Gordon Brown's supporters are divided over his emotional interview with Piers Morgan, but as an election looms will other politicians be cultivating a more family-friendly image to appeal to voters?
In an interview with Piers Morgan due to be broadcast this Sunday evening on ITV1, the prime minister speaks emotionally about the death of his daughter Jennifer - and confirms he did make a deal with Tony Blair over the Labour leadership.
His eyes filled with tears as described the moment he knew that his newborn daughter was not going to survive. She died in 2002 aged 10 days after suffering a brain haemorrhage.
He said: "Nobody actually really told us for a week, it just gradually dawned on us that, that something was going wrong and she wasn't getting bigger, she wasn't growing and, no matter what treatment that was being given to her, she wasn't able to respond to it.
"And I could hold her hand and I could feel that she knew I was there and there was nothing that you could see that was actually wrong, but she just wasn't growing.
"And then probably after a week Sarah and I... she was in the special care. I turned to the doctor and I said 'She's not going to live, is she?'
"And he said 'No, I don't think so. She's not going to live'."
Leadership understanding
During the highly personal interview with Piers Morgan, the prime minister also said Mr Blair agreed to hand over the leadership at a later date, on the basis that he was given a clear run in 1994.
But Mr Brown claimed that the "understanding" was reached before their now-infamous dinner at Granita in Islington, north London.
Mr Brown said: "There was no deal struck at Granita's. That's been one of the great myths and people have written about it.
"I'd already agreed with Tony before that dinner that he would stand for the leadership and I would stay on as the shadow chancellor, as the person in charge of economic policy.
"And there's an understanding that at some point Tony would stand down and he would support me if, when that was the case. And that's where we left it."
Mr Brown appeared to suggest that he, rather than Mr Blair, should have assumed the leadership first.
The other party leaders have tried to cultivate a more family-friendly image.
The Conservative leader David Cameron has spoken freely about his family life.
However not all of the prime minister's allies are convinced about Mr Brown's decision to go personal.
One adviser told Channel 4 News political correspondent Cathy Newman he prime minister would never win against David Cameron on personality, and was better to focus on his strengths such as his experience of governing.
However it is understood former PR executive Sarah was keen to push her husband's softer side.
