Steve Parks

Gordon Brown has taken to the stage now. He says now is the time we need entrepreneurs more than ever, as 'the only people who can create value in the current economy'.

He says...

The opportunities for enteprise are now endless because the market is now global. While this is a difficult time, we can work with the international community for common ends.....

This is the first financial crisis of the global age, and it's highlighted that we are a global economy now and need to collaborate with our international partners. But if we can solve them together we can build a better society and the opportunities for entrepreneurs will be greater than ever before....

"My father always said that everyone has a talent, and everyone should be challenged to use that talent."

He's also just told a story to try to engage the younger part of the audience. Apparantly he was sat next to Nelson Mandela at his birthday concert in London, and had to keep explaining who each of the acts were (who had explained it to him?). He says he had difficulty when it came to Amy Winehouse to explain all the elements of why she was famous - especially as Amy apparantly said backstage that her husband and Mandela had a lot in common. And during the rendition of 'free nelson mandela' she sang 'free blakey-my-husband'!

There's not a lot of substance in this speech - no policy - but it's interesting, and he has the attention of the audience. He's certainly become a much better speaker than he used to be. No script, just some scribbled notes. A few jokes, a few inspiring stories. He seemed relaxed, and the speech went down well.

UPDATE: Here's the YouTube video of his speech:

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