No more Grumpy Gordon as Chancellor shows softer side

A gentler Gordon Brown has emerged into the spotlight as the man who once revelled in his image as the "Iron Chancellor" seeks to transform himself into a softer prime minister-in-waiting.

Mr Brown's traditional "morning after the Budget" interview on Radio 4's Today has often degenerated into a messy shouting match in which Grumpy Gordon and his interrogator drown each other out.

John Humphrys asked plenty of hard questions yesterday, but Mr Brown repeatedly refused to wield what Tony Blair describes as his "big clunking fist". Nor was there any hint of triumphalism about his 2p cut in income tax. Instead, he said some would be losers in his Budget and added, humbly, he had tried to do his best to help everyone.

Although Mr Brown would never have admitted it, perhaps the words of Lord Turnbull were still ringing in his ears. The former cabinet secretary had spoken of the Chancellor's "Stalinist ruthlessness" on the eve of the Budget.

Yesterday Mr Brown seemed keen to dispel the damaging image before it took root. "I don't hold grudges against people at all," he said, stressing his desire to see an inclusive, collegiate government of "all the talents".

Not that he was taking the premiership for granted - even if the entire Westminster world thinks he is about to land it. "I'm ready to rise to any challenge because I think what I would like to do is to serve the country in the best way that I can," he said.

Humphrys, normally a terrier-like inquisitor, also softened his approach, trying to draw a reluctant Mr Brown into getting personal. Initially, Mr Brown resisted but then - perhaps mindful of battle with the family-friendly David Cameron - gave in. In a veiled reference to the death of his infant daughter Jennifer Jane and the discovery that his second son Fraser has cystic fibrosis, he said he had changed in recent years. "I'm a family man with two young children trying to do the best by them," he said. "I do understand the challenges that families all over the country face with young children."

The impression given is that Mr Brown is trying a makeover aimed at softening his harsh image. The rebranding of the Iron Chancellor is under way. Perhaps Lord Turnbull inadvertently did him a favour after all.

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