Brown had no grasp of economics - to understand this all you have to do is to look at the Public Finance Initiative (private enterprise builds something and makes the public purse pay 10 times over, during 30 years - brilliant!).
A tiny bit unfair on Gorgeous Gordon - PFI had been around since 1992, some 5 years before Labour came in. But you're absolutely right inasmuch as when in power, Labour should have grown a pair and ripped up the scheme rather than digging themselves in deeper.
Still, this is only partial exoneration. Brown's decision to sell 60% of the UK's gold reserve at the bottom of the market looked daft even then - and in retrospect, the decision to hand over regulation of the banks to the Financial Services Authority was just horrific: it allowed a situation where any fool could look good in a protracted boom - and consequently that's just what many fools did.
I'm still reminded of the speech he gave at Lehmans praising the financial services industry and light-touch regulation in 2004. Considering my company did around 350k worth of training for Lehmans in 2008, finishing September 10th, four days before they went tits up, the Gordon doll on my desk does suffer from pins and needles quite regularly these days.