Brown's assembly address: 'His audience recognises him as one of their own'

GORDON BROWN can expect a positive reception when he addresses the Church of Scotland's General Assembly tomorrow but it's not that members of the Kirk are immune from concerns about the economy or that they are all natural Labour supporters.

It is because his audience recognises him as one of their own. His father was a Church of Scotland minister and the Prime Minister has often spoken of the "moral compass" which his upbringing gave him.

It will not go without comment that his visit comes on the 20th anniversary of Margaret Thatcher's famous Sermon on The Mound in which she sought to persuade the ministers and elders there was a Christian justification for her gospel of wealth creation and individualism. Her very presence at the assembly provoked protests and controversy but Mr Brown need not fear a similar response.

When he addresses the assembly, it will give him not only the opportunity to restate his values but to re-assert himself in Scotland. He has addressed the gathering before – as Chancellor in 1999 – when he launched a crusade to release the Third World from the shackles of debt and poverty, but returning as Prime Minister should be a triumphant homecoming.

His desire to help the poor, particularly in places like Africa, is doubtless driven by his upbringing but it is proving difficult for him to translate that into public appeal at a time when the economy is doing so badly and voters want to know how he intends to tackle the creeping malaise which is rolling back the years of plenty to the dark days of discontent which ushered in the Thatcher era.

But no-one for a moment should doubt his sincerity when he speaks of how the desire to help the least fortunate lies at the core of his credo.

It is also perhaps at least partly due to his upbringing that he comes across as austere and stern. And while these were qualities that many were initially looking for in a leader after the departure of the showy Mr Blair, there is a desire now for more charismatic and inspirational leadership.

Such is the level of concern over his lack of standing with the public that some within his own party are now questioning whether he is the man to lead them into the next election.

But although Mr Brown will be in his element tomorrow, the General Assembly is not a gathering at which anyone should expect him to showboat and the spin doctors should be kept at arms length. It is the one platform where the real Gordon Brown should be there for all to see.