The summer of 2007 was a sad one. No longer will we hear comments such as ‘please don't call me arrogant… I am the special one’. Jose Mourinhio has gone and with him goes much of the excitement that has surrounded the Premiership in recent years. However his departure just seems to be a sign of the times. Take politics: with the departure of Tony Blair we are assured that there will be no more spin. Politicians will no longer look for the silver lining in every cloud and the government will concern itself simply with governing. But is it really good riddance to spin?

I hope not. In the last few months Britain has seen some of the worst flooding of the last hundred years. There have also been bank crises, terrorist attacks and foot-and-mouth outbreaks. Yet the news is painfully dull to watch. Accountants are not renowned for being interesting people, but no one could have predicted that the man who had previously been incharge of the country’s accounts would be this boring.

It is understandable that Gordon Brown would opt for this serious image after the spin fulled, populist days of Tony Blair. Too much spin erodes public trust in politicians and undermines democracy. Just look to America. Here it has got to the point that if you want to know what Bush is thinking, simply take the opposite of whatever he says. This rule of thumb holds worringly often from WMD in Iraq to Bush’s view on other leaders –for example apparently Brown is not a ‘dour Scotsman… he’s actually the humorous Scotsman’.

No one could have predicted that the man who had previously been incharge of the country’s accounts would be this boring.

Boring can be good. In fact a prime minister who focusses more on effectively running the country and less on their image would be fantastic. The problem is that the leader of our country is failing to engage our country. It is a bizarre state of affairs that an Old-Etonian can claim to be the leader most in-tune to a nations needs. One can imagine Gordon Brown’s ideal world. It would be Scotland fifty years ago. Few people in Britain want the same, but the man in charge has little ability to engage with everyone else.

As troubling is the fact that Brown is trying to use spin to create this new image of seriousness and non-spin. For example he has employed America’s top political consultant, Bob Shrum. Shrum was Al Gore’s political consultant during his election campaign. According to the Times it was Shrum who wrote Al Gore’s speech to the Democratic National Convention in which he said “sometimes people say I’m too serious” and he promised that “I will not let you down”. Gordon Brown used exactly the same words at this year’s Labour conference. Being concerned about your image is nothing new in politics. It is just insulting to spun a story about the death of spin.

Put together, Brown’s lack of ability to engage with the country and his use of spin make for a very worrying Prime Minister. If a Prime Minister is dull to watch he is unlikely to be in tune with the wants of the electorate. If he thinks that he can use spin to claim that he is unconcerned with image he is revealed to have a dim view of the electorates intelligence. For a man who complains so much about lack of popular engagement in politics he really is too unengaging, dull and aloof.

Tony Blair’s time in Downing Street may have been one of spin, of populist measures and of celebrities (characteristically, his last official visitor to number ten was Arnold Swarchenegger) but Brown’s time as prime minister has been one of sterile seriousness, insulting spin and apparent aloofness. No one can bregrudge Mr Brown the use of some kind of spin – today even my cereal packet claims to be ‘honest, tasty and real’ – but I do wish that his spin was not trying to claim that he is above spin. Brown has shown himself to be unable to communicate with the country in a way that is even close to being engaging. Being dull and aloof is not a good combination for a Prime Minister. Our only hope is that after the next election he, unlike Swarchenegger, will not be back.