Gordon Brown tries out a 4-part list at the TUC

Well, Mr Brown's now given the speech that had been widely circulated before he got anywhere near the TUC in Liverpool.

And here's what Sky News singled out as the sound bite of the day - because the much trailed news was that he was going to say the word 'cut' for the first time.

In fact, he used the 'C' word four times in a row, deploying a curious combination of rhetorical techniques that I've seldom seen before: a fifth item being contrasted with the previous four (very different from the much commoner form, favored by speakers like Churchill and Obama, where the third item is contrasted with the first two).

Nor did it seem to go down all that well, as there was a significant delay before the applause finally got under way - prompted, it appears, by Mr Brown leaning back from the lectern to let them know that he jolly well wasn't going to go on until they responded.

(You may have to watch an advert or two before GB comes into view).

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