Brown 'lifted' his conference speech from Bill Clinton and Al Gore

12 April 2012

Gordon Brown speaks at the Labour Party conference

An analysis claims there are similarities in the words and structures between Monday's address and those given by the American politicians.

Both were clients of US strategist and speech writer Bob Shrum who is currently advising Mr Brown.

Cabinet minister Andy Burnham branded the report "garbage" that had been fuelled by an "increasingly desperate" Opposition.

"Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, promised in the same newspaper in 2004, that he would bring US-style 'negative campaigning' and 'character attacks' to British politics.

"But what he needs to understand is that the British people will never respond to the politics of insidious underhand smears."

The Tories claimed the revelations undermined the Prime Minister's claims to be ditching spin.

In his speech Mr Brown said: "This is my pledge to the British people: I will not let you down."

And in his 2000 Presidential nomination acceptance speech, Al Gore said: "I pledge to you tonight: I will work for you every day and I will never let you down."

In his conference speech, Mr Brown said: "Sometimes people say I am too serious and I fight too hard and maybe that's true."

Al Gore's 2000 Presidential nomination acceptance speech read: "I know my own imperfections. I know that sometimes people say I'm too serious, that I talk too much substance and policy."

Mr Brown said: "And there is no weakness in Britain today that cannot be overcome by the strengths of the British people."

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Gordon Brown has been accused of lifting sections of his conference speech from Bill Clinton (left) and Al Gore

Bill Clinton's first inaugural Presidential speech in 1993 went: "There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured with what is right with America."

Mr Brown's speech also echoed the structure of those penned by Mr Schrum, notably in beginning with a story about his parents and what they taught him, The Times analysis claimed.

Tory frontbench spokesman Chris Grayling said: "This destroys the myth that we are seeing a Prime Minister who has given up spin.

"Far from being a genuine article he is just rehashing old material from US politicians."

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