Gordon Brown and his problems with mathematics

Back in 2007 Gordon Brown said that

"I did maths at school and for one year at university but I don't think I was ever very good at it - and some people would say it shows."

Today at PMQs Gordon Brown said that the typical family would be £5 a week better off "that's £275 a year". The last time I checked, 5 x 52 was 260, but what do I know.

The BBC manage not to refer to this obvious mistake, preferring on their "The Full Story: PM's Questions" page the dry

"1212 Mr Brown defends the VAT cut, saying it gives the typical family an extra £5 a week to spend."

Are the BBC unaware that 5 x 52 does not equal 275? Do they have nobody who can multiply a two digit number by 5 working there? Or are they trying to protect the Prime Minister from ridicule?


Ask yourself this, if a similar error had been made by Margaret Thatcher or John Major when they were Prime Minister or by any subsequent leader or shadow Chancellor, do you think the BBC would have played the clip over and over and over again for years.


So will the BBC correct the page or will Hansard be "corrected" to show what Gordon Brown "meant" to say? We will know what Hansard has done when it comes out online tomorrow morning.


Just as with the media's endless repetition of George W. Bush's misspeaking whilst conveniently ignoring Barack Obama's claim to have visited "57 states" with "one left to go"



as well as ignoring his other documented errors. The media choose a "narrative" and indeed a favourite and ignore any other evidence to the contrary.

It was the same with John Redwood, the BBC destroyed him with the endless replaying of him failing to song along with Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau and associating him with looking like an alien, whilst they seem unwilling to show the video of Gordon Brown picking his nose and eating the results (and cleaning his fingers on his tie) whilst Tony Blair answers PMQs, why the lack of balance?

Here's the video of Gordon Brown picking his nose.




I promise that, when the BBC can prove to me that they have played this video as many times as they have played the video of John Redwood not knowing the Welsh National Anthem, I will post the John Redwood video here as well.




UPDATE: It appears that my hearing let me down; I thought Gordon Brown said £370, whereas in fact I am told he said £275. Still can't multiply correctly though.