With Tony Blair continuing on his farewell tour of the world, Gordon Brown is getting closer to becoming the UK prime minister, and one can’t help but wonder what his premiership will bring. After 10 years in charge of the economy of the UK, Brown claims to have got the country in better financial shape than ever before, but with taxes for regular citizens at record highs, he might need to work some more magic if he wants to win over the population as quickly as he won over his party.

The chances are that a Brown government in the UK will be little different to a Blair government. The country still faces the twin dangers of terrorism and climate change, and the government will almost certainly still have to rely on pollsters in order to make major policy decisions. to ensure that they are popular enough with the voters.

Gordon Brown has a public image of being a no nonsense hard liner when it comes to the economy, putting prudence before pleasure, and giving great emphasis to reducing debt by charging people more for basic services during his time as chancellor.

The chances are that when Gordon Brown takes charge, he will have less than 2 years to get the public on side before calling a general election; otherwise he will lose to David Cameron’s rejuvenated Conservative Party. He may need to relax his iron grip on spending in order to buy votes, or offer substantial tax cuts across the board, otherwise, he faces a very short term in office, and a lengthy period out of work after he loses the election.

Of course, what will matter a great deal for Brown is who he surrounds himself with. He has a reputation for being a man who controls his staff firmly, so he may well bring in people who will essentially do what he says. He may well do the opposite though, devolving more power to his ministers, and relying on specialists to do their job. Only time will tell!