24-hour news cuts PMs’ shelf-life: Brown

Does a prime minister’s constant exposure to the public in the era of 24-hour news help win votes and prolong the tenure at the top? Not really, says one leading politician who should know.

Gordon Brown, who was Britain’s prime minster from 2007 to 2010, and was often ill at ease on television, believes the constant focus of 24-hour news has cut the shelf life at the top to a maximum of six years.

The reason: people get bored with over-exposure and are keen to move on.

Brown’s off-the-cuff comment about a woman who questioned him during a visit to Rochdale before the 2010 election was one of several moments when he came worse off. The lapel mic was on when he got into the car, and his comment that she was a “bigoted woman” was broadcast repeatedly, embarrassing him.

Speaking at the Hay Festival in Wales that concluded on Sunday, Brown said the invasive modern media meant that people got sick of politicians more quickly. “People have got a shelf life in politics. You’ve probably got about six years at the top of politics and that’s about it,” he remarked.

“People get bored, they get fed up with you, they’ve had enough, they’ve seen it all before. It is so invasive and everything about your personal life is investigated – I am fed up with that personally, but that is how it is.” HTC