Brown: “What you see is what you get”

Brown, in his speech this morning, shapes the debate for the campaign:

I believe that character is not about telling people what they want to hear but about telling them what they need to know.

It's about having the courage to set your mission and the courage to take the tough decisions and stick to them without being blown off course, even when the going is difficult.

With me what see is what you get - and the stakes are high, we dare not risk the recovery for our task above all else is to preserve and expand the jobs and lift the standards of life of the British people.

We are weathering the storm. Now is no time to turn back. We will hold to our course and we will complete this mission.

We have got through this storm together, but there are still substantial risks ahead, there will be bumps in the road and I believe the only way to overcome them is by displaying the same strength and resolve that we did during the crisis and I will not let you down.

This is important stuff.  Brown is appealing to the voters who have already decided to switch from Labour and asking them to think again.  Whether it works remains to be seen, but this is how he going to fight the election.

And the Tory response?  They are going to have to be quicker off the starting blocks than they have been so far today.