Since taking over as prime minister in late June, Gordon Brown has been carefully working to position himself both as a figure of continuity and as an agent of change. This might appear paradoxical but it is entirely understandable. As chancellor of the exchequer for the past decade, Gordon has exercised a massive influence over the Labour government's economic and social policies. He deserves great credit for presiding over an unprecedentedly long period of economic growth and rightly wants to reassure the public that the policies that delivered that success remain in place. Hence the continuity. At the same time, he is understandably keen to establish his own style of government, different from that of Tony Blair.
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