Little Joe Stalin

As the Labour NEC puts out the timetable for the CrowningElection of the next Labour Leader and, lest we forget, our next Prime Minister the following article shows a little of what we might expect from the current Chancellor.

A few snippets from the document might whet your appetite for how he will "govern" this country.

The documents confirm Mr Brown's ferocious appetite for what others may regard as tedious detail.

One of his first actions as Rector was to write sternly to university officials, arguing that "I must have all the business of the Court on hand, in order to fulfil my function as Chairman", and so he had to receive the minutes of all Court committees.

At this young age, Mr Brown seems to have been worried whether he was getting enough publicity. In one internal memo the university's information officer wrote:

"The Rector appears to be sensitive to the fact that the BBC did not contact him yesterday to appear on television. I told him this was a matter for the BBC to decide whether or not they should follow up any story. In confidence I have warned the BBC News Editor in Edinburgh about the Rector's attitude."

When it came to the end of his three year term Brown clearly hoped to go out in style. He planned to give a valedictory address and get the University authorities to declare the day a special academic holiday, with no lectures or classes. This was derisively rejected. The Secretary wrote that Brown's suggested date was

"singularly inappropriate", suggesting instead that he give his address on a Wednesday afternoon, a time normally free from classes anyway.

BBC NEWS | Politics | Brown's first taste of power