Premiership of Gordon Brown
Encyclopedia
The Premiership of Gordon Brown
began on 27 June 2007, when Brown accepted the Queen's invitation to form a government, replacing Tony Blair
as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
, and ended with his resignation as Prime Minister on 11 May 2010. While serving as Prime Minister, Brown also served as the First Lord of the Treasury
, the Minister for the Civil Service
and the Leader of the Labour Party
. He was succeeded
by David Cameron
.
Brown's style of government differed from that of his predecessor, Tony Blair, who had been seen as presidential. Brown rescinded some of the policies which had either been introduced or were planned by Blair's administration. He remained committed to close ties with the United States
and to the Iraq war
, although he established an inquiry into the reasons why Britain had participated in the conflict. He proposed a "government of all the talents" which would involve co-opting leading personalities from industry and other professional walks of life into government positions. Brown also appointed Jacqui Smith
as the UK's first female Home Secretary
, while Brown's old position as Chancellor
was taken over by Alistair Darling
.
Brown's government introduced a number of fiscal policies to help keep the British economy afloat during the financial crisis which occurred throughout the latter part of the 2000s and early 2010, although the United Kingdom saw a dramatic increase in its national debt. Several major banks were nationalised after falling into financial difficulties, while large amounts of money were pumped into the economy to encourage spending. Labour was also press ganged into giving Gurkha
s settlement rights in Britain by the actress and campaigner Joanna Lumley
and attracted criticism for its handling of the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the only person to have been convicted over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. Brown was also dogged by allegations of bullying.
Initially, during the first four months of his premiership, Brown enjoyed a good lead in the polls. His popularity amongst the public may be due to his handling of numerous serious events during his first few weeks as Prime Minister, including two attempted terrorist attacks in London
and Glasgow
at the end of June. However, between the end of 2007 and September 2008, his popularity had fallen significantly, with two contributing factors believed to be his perceived change of mind over plans to call a snap general election in October 2007, and his handling of the 10p tax rate cut in 2008, which led to allegations of weakness and dithering. His unpopularity led eight labour MPs to call for a leadership contest in September 2008, less than 15 months into his premiership. The threat of a leadership contest receded due to his perceived strong handling of the global financial crisis in October, but his popularity hit an all time low, and his position became increasingly under threat after the May 2009 expenses scandal and Labour's poor results in the 2009 Local and European elections. Brown's cabinet began to rebel with several key resignations in the run up to local elections in June 2009. However, Brown was ultimately backed by his party. Brown faced a second attempt to launch a leadership challenge by former Cabinet colleagues Geoff Hoon
and Patricia Hewitt
in January 2010, but the plot failed to gather momentum and Brown remained as both Labour leader and Prime Minister to lead his Party into the 2010 General Election. The election resulted in a hung parliament
with the Conservative Party
achieving the largest number of seats. Brown remained as prime minister while the Liberal Democrats
negotiated with Labour and the Conservatives to form a coalition government
. He announced his intention to resign on 10 May 2010 in order to help broker a Labour-Liberal Democrat deal. However, this became increasingly unlikely, and on 11 May Brown announced his resignation as Prime Minister. He also announced his resignation as Leader of the Labour Party.
had nominated Brown giving him 308 nominations, sufficient to avoid a leadership contest (although another report states that the decisive nomination was made by Tony Wright with MacKinlay yet to nominate at that point).
Since Blair's announcement of his resignation and Brown's bid for leadership, the Labour Party gained a bounce in the polls, gaining three points after months of low polls trailing behind the opposition, the Conservative Party
although they have since lost such a lead.
Brown launched his campaign website the same day as formally announcing his bid for leadership "Gordon Brown for Britain".
, who left office in 2003, and Jonathan Powell
, his predecessor's political advisers, authority to issue instructions to civil servants. Brown's senior advisers - such as Spencer Livermore
, Sue Nye, Mike Ellam and Gavin Kelly - continued to exert considerable influence at the heart of government. Other senior advisors working for Brown in 10 Downing Street included former Treasury Special Advisers Damian McBride
, Jonathan Ashworth and Jo Dipple and former senior Labour Party official, Fiona Gordon.
Brown faced a major prime-ministerial challenge two days after entering office, when two unexploded car bombs were discovered in London
on 29 June. The following day, 30 June 2007, another car was driven into the entrance of the main terminal of Glasgow International Airport
in a second apparent terrorist attack, causing a fire and considerable damage to the building. Brown was born in Glasgow, leading to speculation that the attacks were motivated against him. As a result of both the London and Glasgow
incidents, Brown chaired emergency COBRA meetings to review plans to protect the British public. He also spoke to the First Minister of Scotland
Alex Salmond
regarding the incidents.
On 3 July, Brown announced a programme of constitutional reform, including limits on the powers of the Prime Minister, extensions to the powers of Parliament, a consultation on a bill of rights and a possible lowering of the minimum voting age.
On 7 July 2007, Brown announced £14m in flood aid for the flood-hit areas in the north of England.
On 11 July, Brown announced that housing would be at the top of his political agenda, promising three million new homes to be built by 2020.
was appointed as Foreign Secretary while Alistair Darling
succeeded Brown as Chancellor
. Brown's team also included Jacqui Smith
, who became Britain's first female Home Secretary
. Jack Straw
was appointed to the new role of Justice Secretary. Brown also advocated a "Government of all the talents" in which people who had not previously been members of the Labour Party, but who extertese in specific areas would be appointed as ministers. Consequently five new ministers were appointed, including Sir Ara Darzi, a consultant surgeon who became a health minister in the House of Lords; Sir Digby Jones, the former director general of the CBI
, who became minister of state for trade and investment; and Sir Alan West
, the former head of the Royal Navy
, who became a security minister at the Home Office.
.
In a speech given to the Labour Friends of Israel
in April 2007, Brown stated:
Brown skipped the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics
, on 8 August 2008 in Beijing
. He attended the closing ceremony instead, on 24 August 2008. Brown had been under intense pressure from human rights campaigners to send a message to China
, concerning the 2008 Tibetan unrest
. His decision not to attend the opening ceremony was not an act of protest, rather made several weeks in advance and not intended as a stand on principle.
under Brown's government. A Washington, D.C.
speech by Brown's close aide Douglas Alexander
was widely reported as both a policy shift and a message to the U.S: "In the 21st century, strength should be measured on what we can build together…we need to demonstrate by our deeds, words and our actions that we are internationalist
, not isolationist, multilateralist, not unilateralist, active and not passive, and driven by core values, consistently applied, not special interests."
However, Downing Street's spokesman strongly denied the suggestion that Alexander was trying to distance Britain from U.S. foreign policy
and show that Britain would not necessarily, in Tony Blair
's words, stand "shoulder to shoulder" with George W. Bush
over future military interventions: "I thought the interpretation that was put on Douglas Alexander's words was quite extraordinary. To interpret this as saying anything at all about our relationship with the U.S. is nonsense."
Brown personally clarified his position; "We will not allow people to separate us from the United States of America in dealing with the common challenges that we face around the world. I think people have got to remember that the relationship between Britain and America and between a British prime minister and an American president
is built on the things that we share, the same enduring values about the importance of liberty
, opportunity, the dignity of the individual. I will continue to work, as Tony Blair did, very closely with the American administration
."
. On the morning of 13 December 2007, Foreign Secretary David Miliband
stood in for the Prime Minister at the official signing ceremony in Lisbon of the EU Reform Treaty, which was attended by all other European heads of government. Brown was otherwise engaged at the House of Commons, appearing before the Liaison Committee
, and travelled to Portugal to sign the treaty in the afternoon which the EU leaders had signed in the morning. Brown came under heavy fire from opponents on both sides of the House and in the press, who suggested that neither Brown nor Labour had a mandate to ratify the treaty without public assent. Conservative leader David Cameron
pointed to Labour's 2005 manifesto, which had pledged to give British public a referendum on the original EU Constitution. Brown argued that the Treaty differed on significant points from the Constitution, and was no longer a "constitution" but an ordinary treaty, and as such did not require a referendum. He also responded with plans for a lengthy debate on the topic, and stated that he believed the document to be too complex to be decided by referendum.
Brown said in a letter published on 17 March 2008 that the United Kingdom
will hold an inquiry into the Iraq war -- but not soon. It was not until 15 June 2009 that an inquiry was announced, with Brown saying that it would look into the country's role in the Iraq War and would be held in private
, a decision which was subsequently changed. Brown stated, "no British documents and no British witness will be beyond the scope of the inquiry." The announcement and nature of the inquiry was widely criticised. Conservative Party
leader David Cameron
dismissed the inquiry as "an establishment
stitch-up", and the Liberal Democrats
threatened a boycott. The open sessions of the inquiry commenced on 24 November 2009, televised from the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
.
On 5 March 2010, Gordon Brown appeared before the inquiry. In a four hour hearing he told the inquiry that he believed the war had been "right" and that intelligence briefings had convinced him that Iraq was a threat that "had to be dealt with". He said that the then Prime Minister Tony Blair
had not kept him in the dark despite him not being aware of some developments and that the main issue which concerned him was that Iraq was in breach of UN
resolutions. He feared the "new world order we were trying to create would be put at risk" if the international community did not act together to deal with Iraq. On the question of equipment he said that troops had all the equipment they needed. Giving his assessment of the appearance, the BBC's political editor Nick Robinson
said; "Gordon Brown's aim today appears to be to look and sound different from Tony Blair whilst simultaneously opening up no gap of substance with him and the decisions he took."
Phil Woolas
announced that a further review would be completed by the middle of July. This was followed by a very high profile campaign by the actress Joanna Lumley
(who is the face of the Gurkha Justice Campaign), which included a meeting with Brown at 10 Downing Street
, and a confrontation with Phil Woolas at the BBC Westminster studios leading to an inpromptu press conference in which she pressured him into agreeing to further talks over the issue. Finally, after a Commons Home Affairs Committee
meeting in which talks were held between campaigners, the Ministry of Defence
and the Home Office
on 19 May, Gordon Brown announced to the House of Commons on 20 May that the Home Secretary
Jacqui Smith
would make a statement on the issue the following day. Smith subsequently announced that all Gurkha veterans who had served four years or more in the British Army before 1997 would be allowed to settle in Britain.
in the Scottish Government
's decision to release him, particularly after Saif Gaddafi, the son of Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi claimed that Megrahi's case had been discussed during business talks with the UK, and after Colonel Gaddafi thanked Gordon Brown for "encouraging" the release. This prompted Downing Street to confirm that Brown had discussed a possible release with Gaddafi during the G8 summit
in Italy in July 2009, but that a letter sent by Brown to the Libyan leader had stated, “When we met I stressed that, should the Scottish Executive
decide that Megrahi can return to Libya, this should be a purely private, family occasion.”
It was also claimed that Business Secretary, Peter Mandelson
, had met with Saif Gaddafi on at least two occasions at which a possible release had been discussed. Mandelson confirmed this, but said that he had told Gaddafi that any release was entirely a matter for the Scottish Justice Secretary. He went on to describe as "offensive" any suggestions that a release had been linked to a trade deal with Libya.
Bank sought and received a liquidity support facility from the Bank of England
, following problems in the credit markets, during the financial crisis of 2007–2010. The bank was subsequently taken into public ownership by the British Government in February 2008, as a result of its financial problems caused by the subprime mortgage crisis
.
As the global recession
began to bite throughout 2008, serious concerns were expressed about the stability of the British banking system, particularly after major falls in the stock market at the beginning of October, which saw Britain's leading share index, the FTSE100, record its largest single-day points fall since 1987. On 8 October in response to the crisis, the Government announced a bank rescue package totalling some £500 billion (approximately $850 billion). The plan aimed to restore market confidence and help stabilise the British banking system, and provided for a range of short-term loans and guarantees of interbank lending, as well as up to £50 billion of state investment in the banks themselves. Paul Krugman
, the Nobel
prize-winning economist, has asserted that Brown "defined the character of the worldwide financial
rescue effort".
including training help for the young unemployed and a "car scrappage" scheme which offered £2,000 in subsidy for a new car purchase for the scrapping of a car more than 10 years old (similar to schemes in Germany and France).
Despite entering the crisis with a low level of public debt (roughly 40% of GDP) and a moderate deficit compared to many European nations, the UK has been limited in its ability to take discretionary fiscal action by the significant burden that bank bail-outs have had on public finances. This has contributed to a significant rise in the deficit to an estimated £175 billion (12.4% of GDP) in 2009-10 and a rise in the national debt above 80% of GDP at its peak. Furthermore, the UK has significant automatic stabilisers which have contributed far more than discretionary action and more than most other countries.
Brown's political opponents attributed Labour's drop in popularity to his failure to ensured the country had sufficient monetary reserves to be able to lower taxes and ease the burden on voters, despite overseeing one of the longest sustained periods of economic growth
in the country's history during his time as Chancellor between 1997 and 2007
.
in April, but claimed that the government's action to pump money into the economy had made a "real difference" to families and businesses. He also announced a number of measures to help economic recovery, including a public sector pay freeze, a levy on bank bonuses and a package of measures to help the unemployed. He said the choice facing the country was "between securing the recovery or wrecking it". Darling also said that the UK's total net debt would continue to rise until the financial year 2014-15. Borrowing would reach 56% of GDP in 2009-10 and peak at 78% in 2014-15, later than previously forecast. However, Darling stressed that was in line with other G7 economies.
The measures would see increases in taxes for a large section of the population, prompting Shadow Chancellor George Osborne
to declare that Labour should "never be trusted" with people's money again, while Labour was also accused of electioneering after Darling announced a 1.5 per cent rise in child
and disability benefits
from April 2010 - just weeks ahead of an expected election - but made no comment on whether the rise could be sustained after April 2011. Labour was also criticised because it had chosen to delay vital spending decisions until after the general election. Defending his decision on Radio 4
's Today programme the following day, Darling said that he had not carried out a full spending review because of continued economic "uncertainty". On the issue of benefits he said that he had announced he was overriding the normal requirement to link the rise to the previous September's rate of inflation because this would have led to the benefits being frozen because inflation was negative at that point. Later the same day Brown also denied that the announcement had been a pre-election stunt.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies
has estimated that public spending will face a £36bn shortfall in the three years from 2011 - with £15bn of the cuts needed yet to be identified. The country's leading economic think tank forecasts that with spending on health and education protected, the areas most likely to face severe cuts are defence, housing, transport and higher education. Moreover, it is estimated that the cost to each individual family of paying back the national debt will be £2,400 a year for eight years. On 11 December, it was reported that the Treasury had wanted a tougher approach to public spending in order to lend credibility to its plan to cut the deficit, but that Brown had overruled it following an aggressive public and private campaign by Schools Minister Ed Balls
for a real-terms increase in education spending. Brown dismissed the report as "completely wrong".
', a convention within British politics stating that in exchange for them putting their lives at risk for the sake of national security, the armed forces should in turn be suitably looked after by the government. Criticism came from several former Chiefs of Defence, including General
Lord Guthrie
, Admiral Lord Boyce
, Marshal of the Royal Air Force
Lord Craig
, Field Marshal
Lord Bramall
and Field Marshal
Lord Inge
. Poor housing, lack of equipment and adequate healthcare provisions were some of the major issues Brown was accused of neglecting.
to allow for terror suspects to be detained for up to 90 days without charge, Brown championed a new bill extending this pre-charge detention period to 42 days
. The bill was met with opposition on both sides of the House and, facing a growing backbench rebellion, it is alleged that a number of deals were done behind the scenes to ensure a victory for Brown in the vote on this issue. In the end, the bill passed by just 9 votes. Many commentators view this as a Pyrrhic victory, as Brown had to rely upon the support of a renegade Conservative MP, Ann Widdecombe
, and the votes of a handful of Democratic Unionist MPs. In a session of Prime Ministers' Questions some weeks later, David Cameron
challenged Brown to concede on record that "no deals were done" in ensuring the bill was passed. Brown stood up before the House and gave a one-word response of "Yes". To uproar, Cameron proceeded to quote from a letter written by Geoff Hoon
, Labour's Chief Whip, to the Chairman of the Home Affairs Committee, Keith Vaz
, in which Hoon expressed deep thanks for Vaz's support and in addition signed off the letter with the line "I trust that you will be appropriately rewarded." Hoon has claimed that this was just a joke between friends but others have viewed this letter as proof that deals were indeed done behind the scenes and that Brown was lying when he went on record as stating that no such deals were done.
The House of Lords defeated the bill, with Lords characterising it as "fatally flawed, ill thought through and unnecessary", stating that "it seeks to further erode [...] fundamental legal and civil rights".
. Following the negative reaction to his visit to British troops in Iraq during the 2007 Conservative Party Conference
, an 'off the cuff' conference speech made by David Cameron and an opinion poll showing Labour 6% behind the Conservative Party in key marginal seats, he finally announced that there would be no election in the near future and seemed to rule out an election in 2008. He was subsequently accused by his political opponents as being a ditherer and indecisive. Cameron accused Brown of "bottling" the election because of opinion polls, which Brown denied.
, his last as Chancellor, abolished the 10% income tax rate for the lowest earners (5.1 million people), increasing their rate to the next highest, 20%. Earners who fell within the 22% tax rate band had their rate reduced to 20%, and tax allowances were also made for over-65s. These measures came into effect in April 2008. The "10p tax rate cut
" as it was commonly referred to, was sharply criticised by Frank Field and several other backbenchers. Field also made comments saying that Brown did not seem to be enjoying his job. Health Secretary Alan Johnson
believed that Field was motivated primarily by a personal dislike of Brown, and Field later apologised, saying that he had regretted allowing his campaign to "become personal". In the face of protests such as this though, Chancellor Alistair Darling
cut the tax rate for 22 million people, and borrowed around £2.7 bn to reimburse those on lower and middle incomes who had suffered.
In the summer of 2008, Brown's leadership was presented with a fresh challenge as a large number of senior MPs openly called for him to resign. This event was dubbed the 'Lancashire Plot', as two backbenchers from North West England
urged him to step down and a third questioned his chances of holding on to the Labour Party
leadership. Several MPs argued that if Brown did not recover in the polls by early 2009, he should call for a leadership contest. However, certain prominent MPs, such as Jacqui Smith
and Bill Rammell
, suggested that Brown was the right person to lead Britain through its economic crisis.
A second assault upon Brown's premiership was launched in the autumn of that year, when Siobhain McDonagh
, a MP who during her time in office had never voted against the government, spoke of the need for discussion over Brown's position. McDonagh, a junior government whip, was sacked from her role shortly afterwards, on 12 September. Whilst McDonagh did not state that she wanted Brown deposed, she implored the Labour party to hold a leadership election. McDonagh spoke of a "huge number" of Labour MPs who wanted a leadership election; her views were somewhat substantiated in the following days when several Labour MPs, including Field, Joan Ryan
(who applied, as McDonagh had, for leadership nomination papers, and became the second rebel to be fired from her job), Jim Dowd
, Greg Pope
, and a string of others who had previously held positions in government, made clear their desire for a contest. In an unrelated incident, 12 backbenchers signed their names to a letter criticising Brown in Progress magazine. Eric Joyce
, one of the MPs who signed this letter, said that Brown's future hinged on his performance at the upcoming Labour party conference
.
A Downing Street source responded to these revelations by stating that, "The Blairite
s have been talking up the idea of loads of ministers resigning. But the best they can come up with is an assistant government whip." Tony Lloyd
, chairman of the parliamentary Labour Party, labelled the rebellion a "bit of a sideshow", and Emily Thornberry
MP called Brown the "best qualified" to lead Britain through the economic crisis of 2008. The Labour party admitted that it had received letters from a small number of MPs querying why no nomination papers had been released.
In the face of this growing speculation over Brown's future, the majority of his ministers also backed him to lead the party, and two, Harriet Harman
and David Miliband
, vigorously denied that they were preparing leadership bids. After the shock loss that Labour suffered in the Glasgow East by-election
in July, Harman, the deputy leader of the party, suppressed rumours regarding her intentions, saying that Brown was the "solution", not the "problem"; Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, Justice Secretary Jack Straw
, Schools Secretary Ed Balls
and Cabinet Office Minister Ed Miliband
all re-affirmed their support for Brown. The deputy Prime Minister under Blair, John Prescott
, also pledged his support. Foreign Secretary David Miliband was then forced to deny that he was plotting a leadership bid, when on 30 July, an article written by him in The Guardian
was interpreted by a large number in the media as an attempt to undermine Brown. In the article, Miliband outlined the party's future, but neglected to mention the Prime Minister. Miliband, who had been forced to quell rumours that he would run against Brown in the leadership election of 2007
, responded to this by saying that he was confident Brown could lead Labour to victory in the 2010 General Election, and that his article was an attack against the fatalism
that had dogged the party since the loss of Glasgow-East. Miliband continued to show his support for Brown in the face of the challenge that emerged in September, as did Business Secretary John Hutton
, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn
, and Chief Whip Geoff Hoon
.
and European elections, finishing third place behind the Conservatives
and United Kingdom Independence Party
(UKIP). Voter apathy was reflected in the historically low turnout of around 33%. In Scotland, voter turnout was only 28%. In the local elections, Labour finished third place behind the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats
, with Labour losing control of the four councils it had held prior to the election. In a vote widely considered to be a reaction to the expenses scandal, the share of the votes was down for all the major parties; Labour was down 1%, the Conservative share was down 5%t. The beneficiary of the public backlash was generally seen to be the minor parties, including the Green party
and UKIP. Brown was quoted in the press as having said that the results were "a painful defeat for Labour", and that "too many good people doing so much good for their communities and their constituencies have lost through no fault of their own."
The days leading up to the elections saw the resignations of several high profile cabinet ministers. These included the Europe Minister Caroline Flint
, Home Secretary
Jacqui Smith
, the Minister for Children
, Beverley Hughes
, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
, Hazel Blears
, and Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell
, who resigned minutes after the polls for the local
and European elections
had closed, and sent a letter to the Prime Minister calling on him to step aside.
The results of the local elections
were announced the following day, with the remaining councils under Labour Party
control all falling to the Conservative Party's control. The projected national vote shares suggested that the Conservatives achieved 38% of the vote, the Liberal Democrats 28% and Labour 23%. In the aftermath of these results, Brown reshuffled his cabinet amidst some pressure on his leadership. Further pressure was added following the results of the European parliamentary elections, which were announced on 7 June. These showed large declines in the vote of the Labour Party. The far-right British National Party
also won their first ever seats in a national election, being elected in North West England
and Yorkshire and the Humber
.
All of these events led to mounting speculation about Brown's future as Prime Minister, and a possible leadership challenge. However, after facing down his critics, Gordon Brown was applauded at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party
on 8 June. Brown continued to be unpopular, however, and in September, Britain's biggest selling newspaper, The Sun
announced that it would withdraw its support for the Labour Party
and gave its backing to the Conservatives, thus ending 12 years of support for Labour from the paper.
An attempt was eventually made to challenge Brown's leadership when, in January 2010 Patricia Hewitt
and Geoff Hoon
wrote to Labour MPs calling for a secret ballot on the issue. Their letter claimed that the party was "deeply divided" and the issue should be sorted out "once and for all". However, the plot failed to gather any momentum after several senior cabinet ministers spoke out in support of Brown.
would make allegations that Brown had flown into a series of rages and physically attacked members of his staff. The claims were fiercely denied by Brown's colleagues, and by Brown himself in an interview with the television presenter Piers Morgan
in which he said "I have never hit anybody in my life." The book, The End of the Party, was published on 1 March 2010 after being serialised in a Sunday newspaper throughout February.
In February 2010 Christine Pratt, founder of the National Bullying Helpline
claimed that the helpline had taken calls from Downing Street
staff, although she later stated that the calls did not refer to Brown himself. This led to the resignations of three of the charity's patrons: Cary Cooper
, Ann Widdecombe
and Sarah Cawood
. The Charity Commission
later said that it had received over 160 complaints concerning the helpline's handling of the situation, and as a result of the fallout it was voluntarily suspended, although it resumed service two days later.
to seek the Queen's permission to dissolve Parliament on 12 April, thus triggering a general election on 6 May. Announcing the election shortly afterwards, Brown described it as the "least well-kept secret of recent years", since 6 May had been predicted as the most likely date for an election for some time. Labour's manifesto for the election was unveiled by Brown on 12 April under the party's election slogan of "A future fair for all", with the Prime Minister saying that Labour had a "plan for the future". Key pledges in the manifesto included;
The main opposition parties were critical in their response to the manifesto. The Conservative Party said that it would "change nothing", while the Liberal Democrats
claimed that Labour wouldn't reform tax and politics. Conservative leader David Cameron
said: "There is nothing new there, there is nothing different there." Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg
questioned how Labour could deliver "fairness and new politics" when they had promised the same at previous general elections, but failed to do so.
The election campaign saw the United Kingdom's first televised debates between the leaders of the three main parties. While Cameron and Clegg were generally perceived to have performed well in these, Brown was seen to have done less well. Brown also attracted criticism from the media after privately describing on 28 April, whilst in a car with his staff, a 65-year-old pensioner, Gillian Duffy, from Rochdale
, Greater Manchester
, as a "bigoted woman" after she stated that entitled people were not receiving benefits because non-entitled people are receiving them. She also expressed her displeasure at immigration from Eastern Europe
. His remarks were recorded by a Sky News
microphone he was still wearing following a visit to Rochdale, and widely broadcast.
At the election Labour lost 91 seats in the House of Commons, but the rival Conservatives failed to achieve an overall majority, resulting in the first hung parliament
since 1974
. Under the constitution governing what happens in the event of a hung parliament Brown remained temporarily as prime minister, while the Liberal Democrats
and Conservatives
entered into talks aimed at forming a coalition government
. Talks also took place between the Liberal Democrats and Labour. On 10 May, Brown announced his intention to step down as leader of the Labour Party, and instructed the party to put into motion the processes to elect
a new leader. Brown's continued presence as Prime Minister was seen as a stumbling block to formulating a Labour-Liberal Democrat deal. By 11 May, however, the possibility of a deal was looking unlikely as talks between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats continued, and after concluding that he would not be able to form a government, Brown announced his resignation. He also said that he would be stepping down as leader of the Labour Party with immediate effect. Brown was succeeded
as Prime Minister by David Cameron
, while Harriet Harman
became acting leader of the Labour Party.
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
began on 27 June 2007, when Brown accepted the Queen's invitation to form a government, replacing Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, and ended with his resignation as Prime Minister on 11 May 2010. While serving as Prime Minister, Brown also served as the First Lord of the Treasury
First Lord of the Treasury
The First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the commission exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom, and is now always also the Prime Minister...
, the Minister for the Civil Service
Minister for the Civil Service
In British government, the Minister for the Civil Service is responsible for making regulations regarding Her Majesty's Civil Service, the role of which is to assist the governments of the United Kingdom in formulating and implementing policies...
and the Leader of the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. He was succeeded
Premiership of David Cameron
The premiership of David Cameron began on 11 May 2010 when Cameron accepted the Queen's invitation to form a government. This occurred upon the resignation of Cameron's predecessor as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Gordon Brown...
by David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
.
Brown's style of government differed from that of his predecessor, Tony Blair, who had been seen as presidential. Brown rescinded some of the policies which had either been introduced or were planned by Blair's administration. He remained committed to close ties with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and to the Iraq war
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
, although he established an inquiry into the reasons why Britain had participated in the conflict. He proposed a "government of all the talents" which would involve co-opting leading personalities from industry and other professional walks of life into government positions. Brown also appointed Jacqui Smith
Jacqui Smith
Jacqueline Jill "Jacqui" Smith is a member of the British Labour Party. She served as the Member of Parliament for Redditch from 1997 until 2010 and was the first ever female Home Secretary, thus making her the third woman to hold one of the Great Offices of State — after Margaret Thatcher and...
as the UK's first female Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
, while Brown's old position as Chancellor
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
was taken over by Alistair Darling
Alistair Darling
Alistair Maclean Darling is a Scottish Labour Party politician who has been a Member of Parliament since 1987, currently for Edinburgh South West. He served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2007 to 2010...
.
Brown's government introduced a number of fiscal policies to help keep the British economy afloat during the financial crisis which occurred throughout the latter part of the 2000s and early 2010, although the United Kingdom saw a dramatic increase in its national debt. Several major banks were nationalised after falling into financial difficulties, while large amounts of money were pumped into the economy to encourage spending. Labour was also press ganged into giving Gurkha
Gurkha
Gurkha are people from Nepal who take their name from the Gorkha District. Gurkhas are best known for their history in the Indian Army's Gorkha regiments, the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas and the Nepalese Army. Gurkha units are closely associated with the kukri, a forward-curving Nepalese knife...
s settlement rights in Britain by the actress and campaigner Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive...
and attracted criticism for its handling of the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the only person to have been convicted over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. Brown was also dogged by allegations of bullying.
Initially, during the first four months of his premiership, Brown enjoyed a good lead in the polls. His popularity amongst the public may be due to his handling of numerous serious events during his first few weeks as Prime Minister, including two attempted terrorist attacks in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
at the end of June. However, between the end of 2007 and September 2008, his popularity had fallen significantly, with two contributing factors believed to be his perceived change of mind over plans to call a snap general election in October 2007, and his handling of the 10p tax rate cut in 2008, which led to allegations of weakness and dithering. His unpopularity led eight labour MPs to call for a leadership contest in September 2008, less than 15 months into his premiership. The threat of a leadership contest receded due to his perceived strong handling of the global financial crisis in October, but his popularity hit an all time low, and his position became increasingly under threat after the May 2009 expenses scandal and Labour's poor results in the 2009 Local and European elections. Brown's cabinet began to rebel with several key resignations in the run up to local elections in June 2009. However, Brown was ultimately backed by his party. Brown faced a second attempt to launch a leadership challenge by former Cabinet colleagues Geoff Hoon
Geoff Hoon
Geoffrey "Geoff" William Hoon is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Ashfield from 1992 to 2010...
and Patricia Hewitt
Patricia Hewitt
Patricia Hope Hewitt is an Australian-born British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Leicester West from 1997 until 2010. She served in the Cabinet until 2007, most recently as Health Secretary....
in January 2010, but the plot failed to gather momentum and Brown remained as both Labour leader and Prime Minister to lead his Party into the 2010 General Election. The election resulted in a hung parliament
Hung parliament
In a two-party parliamentary system of government, a hung parliament occurs when neither major political party has an absolute majority of seats in the parliament . It is also less commonly known as a balanced parliament or a legislature under no overall control...
with the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
achieving the largest number of seats. Brown remained as prime minister while the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
negotiated with Labour and the Conservatives to form a coalition government
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
. He announced his intention to resign on 10 May 2010 in order to help broker a Labour-Liberal Democrat deal. However, this became increasingly unlikely, and on 11 May Brown announced his resignation as Prime Minister. He also announced his resignation as Leader of the Labour Party.
Bid for Labour leadership
After months of speculation, Gordon Brown formally announced on 11 May 2007 his bid for the Labour leadership and replaced Tony Blair as Prime Minister on 27 June 2007. On Channel 4 News on 16 May 2007, it was announced that Andrew MackinlayAndrew MacKinlay
Andrew Stuart MacKinlay is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Thurrock from 1992 until he stepped down at the 2010 general election.-Early life:...
had nominated Brown giving him 308 nominations, sufficient to avoid a leadership contest (although another report states that the decisive nomination was made by Tony Wright with MacKinlay yet to nominate at that point).
Since Blair's announcement of his resignation and Brown's bid for leadership, the Labour Party gained a bounce in the polls, gaining three points after months of low polls trailing behind the opposition, the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
although they have since lost such a lead.
Brown launched his campaign website the same day as formally announcing his bid for leadership "Gordon Brown for Britain".
Policies
Brown was careful not to suggest that there would be any U-turns in the key areas of Blair's social policy, or any radical breakaway from New Labour. He did, however, propose a different style of government than that of Blair's much-criticised 'presidential-style' government. Brown was not too clear on certain parts of his policies, but he did suggest that a Brown-led government would introduce the following;:- Sleaze-busting package - Following the cash for honours scandal, Brown emphasised cracking down on sleaze. This led to the belief that Brown would introduce a new Ministerial Code that would set out clear standards of behaviour for ministers. He said that he intended to strip Number 10 Downing Street10 Downing Street10 Downing Street, colloquially known in the United Kingdom as "Number 10", is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, who is now always the Prime Minister....
of some the powers conferred on it by royal prerogativeRoyal PrerogativeThe royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege, and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy as belonging to the sovereign alone. It is the means by which some of the executive powers of government, possessed by and...
, including the ability to declare warDeclaration of warA declaration of war is a formal act by which one nation goes to war against another. The declaration is a performative speech act by an authorized party of a national government in order to create a state of war between two or more states.The legality of who is competent to declare war varies...
, thus giving the Parliament more powers and rights to vet and veto appointments to senior public positions, in a bid to crack down on cronyismCronyismCronyism is partiality to long-standing friends, especially by appointing them to positions of authority, regardless of their qualifications. Hence, cronyism is contrary in practice and principle to meritocracy....
. - Environment - Pledge to make Britain a "World Leader" in combating climate change, with big cuts in carbon emissions that were even bigger than most other developed nations.
- Constitutional reform - Brown did not make it clear whether he proposed a written constitution – something the UK has never had – or a looser bill of rightsBill of rightsA bill of rights is a list of the most important rights of the citizens of a country. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement. The term "bill of rights" originates from England, where it referred to the Bill of Rights 1689. Bills of rights may be entrenched or...
. He said in a speech when announcing his bid that he wanted a “better constitution” that was “clear about the rights and responsibilities of being a citizen in Britain today”. He planned to set up an all-party convention to look at new powers for Parliament, which could also look at rebalancing powers between WhitehallWhitehallWhitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...
and local government. Brown also said that he would give Parliament the final say on whether British troops are sent into action. - Housing - It was suggested that House Planning restrictions could be relaxed. Brown said that he wanted to release more land and ease access to ownership with shared equity schemes. He backed a proposal to build five eco-townEco-towns (UK)Eco-towns are a government-sponsored programme of new towns to be built in England, which are intended to achieve exemplary standards of sustainability.In 2007, the...
s, each housing between 10,000 and 20,000 homeowners – up to 100,000 new homes in total. - Health - Brown said he wanted to have doctors' surgeries open at weekends, and GPsGeneral practitionerA general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
on call in the evenings. Doctors had been given the right of opting out of out-of-hours care two years previously, under a controversial pay deal, signed by then-Health Secretary John ReidJohn Reid (politician)John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan, PC is a British politician, who served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament and cabinet minister under Tony Blair, most notably as Defence Secretary and then Home Secretary...
, that awarded them a 22 per cent pay rise in 2006. Lord Ara Darzi was appointed to review NHS service delivery, especially in London; proposed policies included the induction of polyclinics, open to tender and possibly run by private companies. - Foreign policyForeign relations of the United KingdomThe diplomatic foreign relations of the United Kingdom are implemented by the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The UK was the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Throughout history it has wielded significant influence upon other nations via the British...
- Brown remained committed to the Iraq War, but said in a speech that he would "learn the lessons" from the mistakes made in Iraq. He remained supportive of American policies, but said that he wanted a more "solid but not slavish" relationship with WashingtonSpecial relationshipThe Special Relationship is a phrase used to describe the exceptionally close political, diplomatic, cultural, economic, military and historical relations between the United Kingdom and the United States, following its use in a 1946 speech by British statesman Winston Churchill...
. - SOCPA - Brown intended to repeal sections 132 to 137 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, thereby enabling protest within the area around Parliament without prior permission from the Metropolitan PoliceMetropolitan policeMetropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
. - ID cards - Brown’s campaign manager had hinted that one of Blair’s unpopular key policies would be reviewed. The cost of the £5.5 billion schemeBritish national identity cardThe Identity Cards Act 2006 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided for National Identity Cards, a personal identification document and European Union travel document, linked to a database known as the National Identity Register .The introduction of the scheme was much...
was spiralling. However, Brown said on 12 May that he would press ahead with it. - Europe - Brown supported the EU Reform Treaty and repeatedly dismissed calls for a referendumReferendumA referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
on the issue.
First acts as Prime Minister
On his first day in office Brown rescinded the Order in Council which gave Alastair CampbellAlastair Campbell
Alastair John Campbell is a British journalist, broadcaster, political aide and author, best known for his work as Director of Communications and Strategy for Prime Minister Tony Blair between 1997 and 2003, having first started working for Blair in 1994...
, who left office in 2003, and Jonathan Powell
Jonathan Powell (chief of staff to Tony Blair)
Jonathan Nicholas Powell is a British diplomat who served as the first Downing Street Chief of Staff, under British Prime Minister Tony Blair throughout his premiership, from his election in 1997 until his resignation in 2007...
, his predecessor's political advisers, authority to issue instructions to civil servants. Brown's senior advisers - such as Spencer Livermore
Spencer Livermore
Spencer Livermore is a strategy and communications professional. He is Director of Strategy at London-based communications consultancy Blue Rubicon, advising clients on strategy, communications, research and message development in the context of corporate and brand campaigns...
, Sue Nye, Mike Ellam and Gavin Kelly - continued to exert considerable influence at the heart of government. Other senior advisors working for Brown in 10 Downing Street included former Treasury Special Advisers Damian McBride
Damian McBride
Damian McBride is a former civil servant and former special advisor to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. McBride began his civil service career at HM Customs and Excise...
, Jonathan Ashworth and Jo Dipple and former senior Labour Party official, Fiona Gordon.
Brown faced a major prime-ministerial challenge two days after entering office, when two unexploded car bombs were discovered in London
2007 London car bombs
On 29 June 2007, in London, two car bombs were discovered and disabled before they could be detonated. The first device was left near the Tiger Tiger nightclub in Haymarket at around 01:30, and the second was in Cockspur Street, in the same area of the city....
on 29 June. The following day, 30 June 2007, another car was driven into the entrance of the main terminal of Glasgow International Airport
Glasgow International Airport
Glasgow International Airport is an international airport in Scotland, located west of Glasgow city centre, near the towns of Paisley and Renfrew in Renfrewshire...
in a second apparent terrorist attack, causing a fire and considerable damage to the building. Brown was born in Glasgow, leading to speculation that the attacks were motivated against him. As a result of both the London and Glasgow
2007 Glasgow International Airport attack
The 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack was a terrorist attack which occurred on Saturday 30 June 2007, at 15:11 BST, when a dark green Jeep Cherokee loaded with propane canisters was driven into the glass doors of the Glasgow International Airport terminal and set ablaze...
incidents, Brown chaired emergency COBRA meetings to review plans to protect the British public. He also spoke to the First Minister of Scotland
First Minister of Scotland
The First Minister of Scotland is the political leader of Scotland and head of the Scottish Government. The First Minister chairs the Scottish Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Scottish Government policy...
Alex Salmond
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson "Alex" Salmond MSP is a Scottish politician and current First Minister of Scotland. He became Scotland's fourth First Minister in May 2007. He is the Leader of the Scottish National Party , having served as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Gordon...
regarding the incidents.
On 3 July, Brown announced a programme of constitutional reform, including limits on the powers of the Prime Minister, extensions to the powers of Parliament, a consultation on a bill of rights and a possible lowering of the minimum voting age.
On 7 July 2007, Brown announced £14m in flood aid for the flood-hit areas in the north of England.
On 11 July, Brown announced that housing would be at the top of his political agenda, promising three million new homes to be built by 2020.
Gordon Brown Ministry
Brown appointed his first cabinet in the days following his succession as Prime Minister. David MilibandDavid Miliband
David Wright Miliband is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for South Shields since 2001, and was the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2007 to 2010. He is the elder son of the late Marxist theorist Ralph Miliband...
was appointed as Foreign Secretary while Alistair Darling
Alistair Darling
Alistair Maclean Darling is a Scottish Labour Party politician who has been a Member of Parliament since 1987, currently for Edinburgh South West. He served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2007 to 2010...
succeeded Brown as Chancellor
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
. Brown's team also included Jacqui Smith
Jacqui Smith
Jacqueline Jill "Jacqui" Smith is a member of the British Labour Party. She served as the Member of Parliament for Redditch from 1997 until 2010 and was the first ever female Home Secretary, thus making her the third woman to hold one of the Great Offices of State — after Margaret Thatcher and...
, who became Britain's first female Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
. Jack Straw
Jack Straw
Jack Straw , British politician.Jack Straw may also refer to:* Jack Straw , English* "Jack Straw" , 1971 song by the Grateful Dead* Jack Straw by W...
was appointed to the new role of Justice Secretary. Brown also advocated a "Government of all the talents" in which people who had not previously been members of the Labour Party, but who extertese in specific areas would be appointed as ministers. Consequently five new ministers were appointed, including Sir Ara Darzi, a consultant surgeon who became a health minister in the House of Lords; Sir Digby Jones, the former director general of the CBI
Confederation of British Industry
The Confederation of British Industry is a British not for profit organisation incorporated by Royal charter which promotes the interests of its members, some 200,000 British businesses, a figure which includes some 80% of FTSE 100 companies and around 50% of FTSE 350 companies.-Role:The CBI works...
, who became minister of state for trade and investment; and Sir Alan West
Alan West, Baron West of Spithead
Admiral Alan William John West, Baron West of Spithead GCB DSC PC was, from June 2007 to May 2010, a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the British Home Office with responsibility for Security and a Security Advisor to Prime Minister Gordon Brown...
, the former head of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, who became a security minister at the Home Office.
Foreign policy
Brown made his first overseas trip as Prime Minister to Berlin, where he spoke with German Chancellor Angela MerkelAngela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...
.
In a speech given to the Labour Friends of Israel
Labour Friends of Israel
Labour Friends of Israel is a lobby group promoting support within the British Labour Party for a strong bilateral relationship between Britain and Israel. It also seeks to strengthen ties between the British and the Israeli Labour party...
in April 2007, Brown stated:
Many of you know my interest in IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and in the Jewish community has been long-standing…My father was the chairman of the Church of ScotlandChurch of ScotlandThe Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
's Israel Committee. Not only as I've described to some of you before did he make visits on almost two occasions a year for 20 years to Israel — but because of that, although FifeFifeFife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, where I grew up, was a long way from Israel with no TV pictures to link us together — I had a very clear view from household slides and projectors about the history of Israel, about the trials and tribulations of the Jewish people, about the enormous suffering and loss during the Holocaust, as well as the extraordinary struggle that he described to me of people to create this magnificent homeland.
Brown skipped the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
, on 8 August 2008 in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. He attended the closing ceremony instead, on 24 August 2008. Brown had been under intense pressure from human rights campaigners to send a message to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, concerning the 2008 Tibetan unrest
2008 Tibetan unrest
The 2008 Tibetan unrest, also known from its Chinese name as the 3•14 Riots, was a series of riots, protests, and demonstrations that started in Tibetan regional capital of Lhasa and spread to other Tibetan areas and a number of monasteries including outside the Tibet Autonomous Region...
. His decision not to attend the opening ceremony was not an act of protest, rather made several weeks in advance and not intended as a stand on principle.
Diplomatic relationship with the U.S.
There was widespread speculation on the nature of the UK's relationship with the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
under Brown's government. A Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
speech by Brown's close aide Douglas Alexander
Douglas Alexander
Douglas Garven Alexander is a British Labour Party politician, who is currently the Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in the shadow cabinet of Ed Miliband. He has held cabinet posts under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, including Secretary of State for Scotland and...
was widely reported as both a policy shift and a message to the U.S: "In the 21st century, strength should be measured on what we can build together…we need to demonstrate by our deeds, words and our actions that we are internationalist
Internationalism (politics)
Internationalism is a political movement which advocates a greater economic and political cooperation among nations for the theoretical benefit of all...
, not isolationist, multilateralist, not unilateralist, active and not passive, and driven by core values, consistently applied, not special interests."
However, Downing Street's spokesman strongly denied the suggestion that Alexander was trying to distance Britain from U.S. foreign policy
Foreign relations of the United States
The United States has formal diplomatic relations with most nations. The United States federal statutes relating to foreign relations can be found in Title 22 of the United States Code.-Pacific:-Americas:-Caribbean:...
and show that Britain would not necessarily, in Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
's words, stand "shoulder to shoulder" with George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
over future military interventions: "I thought the interpretation that was put on Douglas Alexander's words was quite extraordinary. To interpret this as saying anything at all about our relationship with the U.S. is nonsense."
Brown personally clarified his position; "We will not allow people to separate us from the United States of America in dealing with the common challenges that we face around the world. I think people have got to remember that the relationship between Britain and America and between a British prime minister and an American president
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
is built on the things that we share, the same enduring values about the importance of liberty
Liberty
Liberty is a moral and political principle, or Right, that identifies the condition in which human beings are able to govern themselves, to behave according to their own free will, and take responsibility for their actions...
, opportunity, the dignity of the individual. I will continue to work, as Tony Blair did, very closely with the American administration
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
."
European Union
Brown continued to be dogged by controversy about not holding a referendum on the EU Treaty of LisbonTreaty of Lisbon
The Treaty of Lisbon of 1668 was a peace treaty between Portugal and Spain, concluded at Lisbon on 13 February 1668, through the mediation of England, in which Spain recognized the sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Braganza....
. On the morning of 13 December 2007, Foreign Secretary David Miliband
David Miliband
David Wright Miliband is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for South Shields since 2001, and was the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2007 to 2010. He is the elder son of the late Marxist theorist Ralph Miliband...
stood in for the Prime Minister at the official signing ceremony in Lisbon of the EU Reform Treaty, which was attended by all other European heads of government. Brown was otherwise engaged at the House of Commons, appearing before the Liaison Committee
Liaison Committee
The Liaison Committee is a topical committee of the British House of Commons, the lower house of the United Kingdom Parliament. The committee consists of the Chairmen of the 32 Commons Select Committees and the chairman of the Joint Committee on Human Rights....
, and travelled to Portugal to sign the treaty in the afternoon which the EU leaders had signed in the morning. Brown came under heavy fire from opponents on both sides of the House and in the press, who suggested that neither Brown nor Labour had a mandate to ratify the treaty without public assent. Conservative leader David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
pointed to Labour's 2005 manifesto, which had pledged to give British public a referendum on the original EU Constitution. Brown argued that the Treaty differed on significant points from the Constitution, and was no longer a "constitution" but an ordinary treaty, and as such did not require a referendum. He also responded with plans for a lengthy debate on the topic, and stated that he believed the document to be too complex to be decided by referendum.
Iraq Inquiry
Brown remained committed to the Iraq War, but said in a speech in June 2007 that he would "learn the lessons" from the mistakes made in Iraq.Brown said in a letter published on 17 March 2008 that the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
will hold an inquiry into the Iraq war -- but not soon. It was not until 15 June 2009 that an inquiry was announced, with Brown saying that it would look into the country's role in the Iraq War and would be held in private
In camera
In camera is a legal term meaning "in private". It is also sometimes termed in chambers or in curia.In camera describes court cases that the public and press are not admitted to...
, a decision which was subsequently changed. Brown stated, "no British documents and no British witness will be beyond the scope of the inquiry." The announcement and nature of the inquiry was widely criticised. Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
leader David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
dismissed the inquiry as "an establishment
The Establishment
The Establishment is a term used to refer to a visible dominant group or elite that holds power or authority in a nation. The term suggests a closed social group which selects its own members...
stitch-up", and the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
threatened a boycott. The open sessions of the inquiry commenced on 24 November 2009, televised from the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre is a conference centre in the City of Westminster, London. It is located in the heart of the city, a minute's walk from the Palace of Westminster, seat of the United Kingdom's Parliament...
.
On 5 March 2010, Gordon Brown appeared before the inquiry. In a four hour hearing he told the inquiry that he believed the war had been "right" and that intelligence briefings had convinced him that Iraq was a threat that "had to be dealt with". He said that the then Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
had not kept him in the dark despite him not being aware of some developments and that the main issue which concerned him was that Iraq was in breach of UN
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
resolutions. He feared the "new world order we were trying to create would be put at risk" if the international community did not act together to deal with Iraq. On the question of equipment he said that troops had all the equipment they needed. Giving his assessment of the appearance, the BBC's political editor Nick Robinson
Nick Robinson
Nicholas Anthony "Nick" Robinson is a British journalist and political editor for the BBC. Robinson was interested in politics from a young age, and went on to study a Philosophy, Politics, and Economics degree at Oxford University, where he was also President of the Oxford University Conservative...
said; "Gordon Brown's aim today appears to be to look and sound different from Tony Blair whilst simultaneously opening up no gap of substance with him and the decisions he took."
Gurkhas settlement rights
On 24 April 2009 the government announced a long awaited decision on Gurkhas' rights to settle in the UK, leading to criticism for its decision to affix five criteria to any Gurkha soldier applying for British citizenship. With the support of both Opposition parties and Labour rebel MPs on 29 April 2009 a Liberal Democrat motion that all Gurkhas be offered an equal right of residence was passed, allowing Gurkhas who served before 1997 residence in the UK. Following the Government defeat, the Minister for ImmigrationMinister of State for Borders and Immigration
The Minister of State for Immigration is a Minister of State in the Home Office of the Government of the United Kingdom. The current minister is Damian Green MP who was appointed to his new post following the formation of a coalition government under David Cameron at the 2010 general...
Phil Woolas
Phil Woolas
Philip James Woolas was a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Oldham East and Saddleworth from his election in 1997 to 2010. He was the Minister of State for Borders and Immigration in the Home Office, as well as being the Minister of State for the Treasury...
announced that a further review would be completed by the middle of July. This was followed by a very high profile campaign by the actress Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive...
(who is the face of the Gurkha Justice Campaign), which included a meeting with Brown at 10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street, colloquially known in the United Kingdom as "Number 10", is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, who is now always the Prime Minister....
, and a confrontation with Phil Woolas at the BBC Westminster studios leading to an inpromptu press conference in which she pressured him into agreeing to further talks over the issue. Finally, after a Commons Home Affairs Committee
Home Affairs Select Committee
The Home Affairs Select Committee is a Committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-Remit:The Home Affairs Committee is one of the House of Commons Select Committees related to government departments: its terms of reference are to examine "the expenditure,...
meeting in which talks were held between campaigners, the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
and the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
on 19 May, Gordon Brown announced to the House of Commons on 20 May that the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
Jacqui Smith
Jacqui Smith
Jacqueline Jill "Jacqui" Smith is a member of the British Labour Party. She served as the Member of Parliament for Redditch from 1997 until 2010 and was the first ever female Home Secretary, thus making her the third woman to hold one of the Great Offices of State — after Margaret Thatcher and...
would make a statement on the issue the following day. Smith subsequently announced that all Gurkha veterans who had served four years or more in the British Army before 1997 would be allowed to settle in Britain.
Release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi
In the days following the release and high profile return to Libya of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi in August 2009, speculation began to mount as to the possible involvement of the Westminster GovernmentGovernment of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Government is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Government is led by the Prime Minister, who selects all the remaining Ministers...
in the Scottish Government
Government of Scotland
Prior to 1707, the Kingdom of Scotland was a sovereign state, governed by the monarch, the privy council, and the parliament. As a result of the Treaty of Union agreed in 1706, the Parliaments of England and Scotland each passed Acts of Union to create the Kingdom of Great Britain.-History:Between...
's decision to release him, particularly after Saif Gaddafi, the son of Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi claimed that Megrahi's case had been discussed during business talks with the UK, and after Colonel Gaddafi thanked Gordon Brown for "encouraging" the release. This prompted Downing Street to confirm that Brown had discussed a possible release with Gaddafi during the G8 summit
35th G8 summit
The 35th G8 summit took place in the city of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, on July 8–10, 2009. It was moved from the Sardinian seaside city of La Maddalena as part of an attempt to redistribute disaster funds after the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake.....
in Italy in July 2009, but that a letter sent by Brown to the Libyan leader had stated, “When we met I stressed that, should the Scottish Executive
Scottish Executive
The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998...
decide that Megrahi can return to Libya, this should be a purely private, family occasion.”
It was also claimed that Business Secretary, Peter Mandelson
Peter Mandelson
Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, PC is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Hartlepool from 1992 to 2004, served in a number of Cabinet positions under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and was a European Commissioner...
, had met with Saif Gaddafi on at least two occasions at which a possible release had been discussed. Mandelson confirmed this, but said that he had told Gaddafi that any release was entirely a matter for the Scottish Justice Secretary. He went on to describe as "offensive" any suggestions that a release had been linked to a trade deal with Libya.
Banking crisis
On 14 September 2007, the Northern RockNorthern Rock
Northern Rock plc is a British bank, best known for becoming the first bank in 150 years to suffer a bank run after having had to approach the Bank of England for a loan facility, to replace money market funding, during the credit crisis in 2007. Having failed to find a commercial buyer for...
Bank sought and received a liquidity support facility from the Bank of England
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
, following problems in the credit markets, during the financial crisis of 2007–2010. The bank was subsequently taken into public ownership by the British Government in February 2008, as a result of its financial problems caused by the subprime mortgage crisis
Subprime mortgage crisis
The U.S. subprime mortgage crisis was one of the first indicators of the late-2000s financial crisis, characterized by a rise in subprime mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures, and the resulting decline of securities backed by said mortgages....
.
As the global recession
Late 2000s recession
The late-2000s recession, sometimes referred to as the Great Recession or Lesser Depression or Long Recession, is a severe ongoing global economic problem that began in December 2007 and took a particularly sharp downward turn in September 2008. The Great Recession has affected the entire world...
began to bite throughout 2008, serious concerns were expressed about the stability of the British banking system, particularly after major falls in the stock market at the beginning of October, which saw Britain's leading share index, the FTSE100, record its largest single-day points fall since 1987. On 8 October in response to the crisis, the Government announced a bank rescue package totalling some £500 billion (approximately $850 billion). The plan aimed to restore market confidence and help stabilise the British banking system, and provided for a range of short-term loans and guarantees of interbank lending, as well as up to £50 billion of state investment in the banks themselves. Paul Krugman
Paul Krugman
Paul Robin Krugman is an American economist, professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, Centenary Professor at the London School of Economics, and an op-ed columnist for The New York Times...
, the Nobel
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
prize-winning economist, has asserted that Brown "defined the character of the worldwide financial
FINANCIAL
FINANCIAL is the weekly English-language newspaper with offices in Tbilisi, Georgia and Kiev, Ukraine. Published by Intelligence Group LLC, FINANCIAL is focused on opinion leaders and top business decision-makers; It's about world’s largest companies, investing, careers, and small business. It is...
rescue effort".
Recession and fiscal stimulus
With the onset of the recession, the United Kingdom was one of the major economies leading calls for fiscal action to stimulate aggregate demand. Throughout 2008 a number of fiscal measures were introduced including a £145 tax cut for basic rate (below £34,800 pa earnings) tax payers, a temporary 2.5% cut in Value Added Tax (Sales Tax), £3 billion worth of investment spending brought forward from 2010 and a variety of other measures such as a £20 billion Small Enterprise Loan Guarantee Scheme. The total cost of these measures, mostly announced in the November 2008 Pre-Budget Report was roughly £20 billion (not counting loan guarantees). Further limited measures worth £5 billion were unveiled in the 2009 budget2009 United Kingdom Budget
The 2009 United Kingdom Budget, officially known as Budget 2009: Building Britain's Future, was formally delivered by Alistair Darling in the House of Commons on 22 April 2009...
including training help for the young unemployed and a "car scrappage" scheme which offered £2,000 in subsidy for a new car purchase for the scrapping of a car more than 10 years old (similar to schemes in Germany and France).
Despite entering the crisis with a low level of public debt (roughly 40% of GDP) and a moderate deficit compared to many European nations, the UK has been limited in its ability to take discretionary fiscal action by the significant burden that bank bail-outs have had on public finances. This has contributed to a significant rise in the deficit to an estimated £175 billion (12.4% of GDP) in 2009-10 and a rise in the national debt above 80% of GDP at its peak. Furthermore, the UK has significant automatic stabilisers which have contributed far more than discretionary action and more than most other countries.
Brown's political opponents attributed Labour's drop in popularity to his failure to ensured the country had sufficient monetary reserves to be able to lower taxes and ease the burden on voters, despite overseeing one of the longest sustained periods of economic growth
Economic growth
In economics, economic growth is defined as the increasing capacity of the economy to satisfy the wants of goods and services of the members of society. Economic growth is enabled by increases in productivity, which lowers the inputs for a given amount of output. Lowered costs increase demand...
in the country's history during his time as Chancellor between 1997 and 2007
Chancellorship of Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown served as a British chancellor of the exchequer from 2 May 1997, when the Labour Party returned to power for the first time in 18 years, to 27 June 2007, when he became prime minister. It was the second-longest continuous period of office of any chancellor, surpassed only by Nicholas...
.
2009 Pre-Budget report
On 9 December, in his final pre-Budget report before the 2010 general election, Chancellor Alastair Darling admitted that the recession had been deeper than predicted during the Budget2009 United Kingdom Budget
The 2009 United Kingdom Budget, officially known as Budget 2009: Building Britain's Future, was formally delivered by Alistair Darling in the House of Commons on 22 April 2009...
in April, but claimed that the government's action to pump money into the economy had made a "real difference" to families and businesses. He also announced a number of measures to help economic recovery, including a public sector pay freeze, a levy on bank bonuses and a package of measures to help the unemployed. He said the choice facing the country was "between securing the recovery or wrecking it". Darling also said that the UK's total net debt would continue to rise until the financial year 2014-15. Borrowing would reach 56% of GDP in 2009-10 and peak at 78% in 2014-15, later than previously forecast. However, Darling stressed that was in line with other G7 economies.
The measures would see increases in taxes for a large section of the population, prompting Shadow Chancellor George Osborne
George Osborne
George Gideon Oliver Osborne, MP is a British Conservative politician. He is the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, a role to which he was appointed in May 2010, and has been the Member of Parliament for Tatton since 2001.Osborne is part of the old Anglo-Irish aristocracy, known in...
to declare that Labour should "never be trusted" with people's money again, while Labour was also accused of electioneering after Darling announced a 1.5 per cent rise in child
Child benefit
Child benefit is a social security payment disbursed to the parents or guardians of children. Child benefit is means-tested in some countries.-Australia:...
and disability benefits
Disability Living Allowance
Disability living allowance is a non-means-tested, non-contributory benefit which can be claimed by a UK resident aged under 65 years who has care and/or mobility needs as a result of a mental or physical disability...
from April 2010 - just weeks ahead of an expected election - but made no comment on whether the rise could be sustained after April 2011. Labour was also criticised because it had chosen to delay vital spending decisions until after the general election. Defending his decision on Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's Today programme the following day, Darling said that he had not carried out a full spending review because of continued economic "uncertainty". On the issue of benefits he said that he had announced he was overriding the normal requirement to link the rise to the previous September's rate of inflation because this would have led to the benefits being frozen because inflation was negative at that point. Later the same day Brown also denied that the announcement had been a pre-election stunt.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies
Institute for Fiscal Studies
The Institute for Fiscal Studies is an economic research institute based in London, United Kingdom which specialises in UK taxation and public policy...
has estimated that public spending will face a £36bn shortfall in the three years from 2011 - with £15bn of the cuts needed yet to be identified. The country's leading economic think tank forecasts that with spending on health and education protected, the areas most likely to face severe cuts are defence, housing, transport and higher education. Moreover, it is estimated that the cost to each individual family of paying back the national debt will be £2,400 a year for eight years. On 11 December, it was reported that the Treasury had wanted a tougher approach to public spending in order to lend credibility to its plan to cut the deficit, but that Brown had overruled it following an aggressive public and private campaign by Schools Minister Ed Balls
Ed Balls
Edward Michael Balls, known as Ed Balls, is a British Labour politician, who has been a Member of Parliament since 2005, currently for Morley and Outwood, and is the current Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer....
for a real-terms increase in education spending. Brown dismissed the report as "completely wrong".
Military covenant
November 2007 saw Brown face intense criticism of not adhering to the 'military covenantMilitary Covenant
The Military Covenant is a term introduced in 2000 into British public life to refer to the mutual obligations between the nation and its Armed Forces....
', a convention within British politics stating that in exchange for them putting their lives at risk for the sake of national security, the armed forces should in turn be suitably looked after by the government. Criticism came from several former Chiefs of Defence, including General
General (United Kingdom)
General is currently the highest peace-time rank in the British Army and Royal Marines. It is subordinate to the Army rank of Field Marshal, has a NATO-code of OF-9, and is a four-star rank....
Lord Guthrie
Charles Guthrie, Baron Guthrie of Craigiebank
General Charles Ronald Llewelyn Guthrie, Baron Guthrie of Craigiebank, was Chief of the Defence Staff between 1997 and 2001 and Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, between 1994 and 1997.-Army career:...
, Admiral Lord Boyce
Michael Boyce, Baron Boyce
Admiral Michael Cecil Boyce, Baron Boyce, KG, GCB, OBE, DL , is a cross bench member of the British House of Lords. Lord Boyce is a former First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy and Chief of the Defence Staff. He was born in Cape Town, South Africa.-Naval career:Educated at Hurstpierpoint College, Boyce...
, Marshal of the Royal Air Force
Marshal of the Royal Air Force
Marshal of the Royal Air Force is the highest rank in the Royal Air Force. In peacetime it was granted to RAF officers in the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff, and to retired Chiefs of the Air Staff, who were promoted to it on their last day of service. Promotions to the rank have ceased...
Lord Craig
David Craig, Baron Craig of Radley
Marshal of the Royal Air Force David Brownrigg Craig, Baron Craig of Radley, GCB, OBE , is a retired Royal Air Force officer and member of the House of Lords...
, Field Marshal
Field Marshal (UK)
Field Marshal is the highest military rank of the British Army. It ranks immediately above the rank of General and is the Army equivalent of an Admiral of the Fleet and a Marshal of the Royal Air Force....
Lord Bramall
Edwin Bramall, Baron Bramall
Field Marshal Edwin Noel Westby Bramall, Baron Bramall KG, GCB, OBE, MC, DL, JP is a British Army officer who served as Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, between 1979 and 1982, and as Chief of the Defence Staff, professional head of the British Armed Forces,...
and Field Marshal
Field Marshal (UK)
Field Marshal is the highest military rank of the British Army. It ranks immediately above the rank of General and is the Army equivalent of an Admiral of the Fleet and a Marshal of the Royal Air Force....
Lord Inge
Peter Inge, Baron Inge
Field Marshal Peter Anthony Inge, Baron Inge was the Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, between 1992 and 1994. He then served as Chief of the Defence Staff before retiring in 1997.-Army career:...
. Poor housing, lack of equipment and adequate healthcare provisions were some of the major issues Brown was accused of neglecting.
42-day detention
Following the rejection of a previous bill under Tony Blair's governmentPremiership of Tony Blair
The Premiership of Tony Blair began on 2 May 1997 and ended on 27 June 2007. While serving as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Blair concurrently served as the First Lord of the Treasury, the Minister for the Civil Service, the Leader of the Labour Party , and a Member of Parliament for the...
to allow for terror suspects to be detained for up to 90 days without charge, Brown championed a new bill extending this pre-charge detention period to 42 days
Counter-Terrorism Bill 2008
The Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which increased police powers for the stated purpose of countering terrorism...
. The bill was met with opposition on both sides of the House and, facing a growing backbench rebellion, it is alleged that a number of deals were done behind the scenes to ensure a victory for Brown in the vote on this issue. In the end, the bill passed by just 9 votes. Many commentators view this as a Pyrrhic victory, as Brown had to rely upon the support of a renegade Conservative MP, Ann Widdecombe
Ann Widdecombe
Ann Noreen Widdecombe is a former British Conservative Party politician and has been a novelist since 2000. She is a Privy Councillor and was the Member of Parliament for Maidstone from 1987 to 1997 and for Maidstone and The Weald from 1997 to 2010. She was a social conservative and a member of...
, and the votes of a handful of Democratic Unionist MPs. In a session of Prime Ministers' Questions some weeks later, David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
challenged Brown to concede on record that "no deals were done" in ensuring the bill was passed. Brown stood up before the House and gave a one-word response of "Yes". To uproar, Cameron proceeded to quote from a letter written by Geoff Hoon
Geoff Hoon
Geoffrey "Geoff" William Hoon is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Ashfield from 1992 to 2010...
, Labour's Chief Whip, to the Chairman of the Home Affairs Committee, Keith Vaz
Keith Vaz
Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz, known as Keith Vaz, was born 26 November 1956 in Aden, Yemen.Keith Vaz is a British Labour Party politician and a Member of Parliament for Leicester East, He is the longest serving Asian MP and has been the Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee since July...
, in which Hoon expressed deep thanks for Vaz's support and in addition signed off the letter with the line "I trust that you will be appropriately rewarded." Hoon has claimed that this was just a joke between friends but others have viewed this letter as proof that deals were indeed done behind the scenes and that Brown was lying when he went on record as stating that no such deals were done.
The House of Lords defeated the bill, with Lords characterising it as "fatally flawed, ill thought through and unnecessary", stating that "it seeks to further erode [...] fundamental legal and civil rights".
The "election that never was"
Gordon Brown caused controversy during September and early October 2007 by letting speculation continue on whether he would call a snap general electionSnap election
A snap election is an election called earlier than expected. Generally it refers to an election in a parliamentary system called when not required , usually to capitalize on a unique electoral opportunity or to decide a pressing issue...
. Following the negative reaction to his visit to British troops in Iraq during the 2007 Conservative Party Conference
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, an 'off the cuff' conference speech made by David Cameron and an opinion poll showing Labour 6% behind the Conservative Party in key marginal seats, he finally announced that there would be no election in the near future and seemed to rule out an election in 2008. He was subsequently accused by his political opponents as being a ditherer and indecisive. Cameron accused Brown of "bottling" the election because of opinion polls, which Brown denied.
Plots against leadership
The first signs of internal disquiet towards Brown's policies surfaced as early as May 2008. Brown, in his 2007 budgetUnited Kingdom budget
The United Kingdom budget deals with HM Treasury budgeting the revenues gathered by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and expenditures of public sector departments, in compliance with government policy.Adjustment is achieved with the GDP deflator....
, his last as Chancellor, abolished the 10% income tax rate for the lowest earners (5.1 million people), increasing their rate to the next highest, 20%. Earners who fell within the 22% tax rate band had their rate reduced to 20%, and tax allowances were also made for over-65s. These measures came into effect in April 2008. The "10p tax rate cut
Starting rate of UK income tax
The starting rate of income tax, often known as the 10p rate, was the lowest rate of personal income taxation in the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2008...
" as it was commonly referred to, was sharply criticised by Frank Field and several other backbenchers. Field also made comments saying that Brown did not seem to be enjoying his job. Health Secretary Alan Johnson
Alan Johnson
Alan Arthur Johnson is a British Labour Party politician who served as Home Secretary from June 2009 to May 2010. Before that, he filled a wide variety of cabinet positions in both the Blair and Brown governments, including Health Secretary and Education Secretary. Until 20 January 2011 he was...
believed that Field was motivated primarily by a personal dislike of Brown, and Field later apologised, saying that he had regretted allowing his campaign to "become personal". In the face of protests such as this though, Chancellor Alistair Darling
Alistair Darling
Alistair Maclean Darling is a Scottish Labour Party politician who has been a Member of Parliament since 1987, currently for Edinburgh South West. He served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2007 to 2010...
cut the tax rate for 22 million people, and borrowed around £2.7 bn to reimburse those on lower and middle incomes who had suffered.
In the summer of 2008, Brown's leadership was presented with a fresh challenge as a large number of senior MPs openly called for him to resign. This event was dubbed the 'Lancashire Plot', as two backbenchers from North West England
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
urged him to step down and a third questioned his chances of holding on to the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
leadership. Several MPs argued that if Brown did not recover in the polls by early 2009, he should call for a leadership contest. However, certain prominent MPs, such as Jacqui Smith
Jacqui Smith
Jacqueline Jill "Jacqui" Smith is a member of the British Labour Party. She served as the Member of Parliament for Redditch from 1997 until 2010 and was the first ever female Home Secretary, thus making her the third woman to hold one of the Great Offices of State — after Margaret Thatcher and...
and Bill Rammell
Bill Rammell
William Ernest Rammell is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Harlow from 1997 to 2010, and has served as the Minister of State for the Armed Forces at the Ministry of Defence...
, suggested that Brown was the right person to lead Britain through its economic crisis.
A second assault upon Brown's premiership was launched in the autumn of that year, when Siobhain McDonagh
Siobhain McDonagh
Siobhain Ann McDonagh is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Mitcham and Morden since 1997. She previously served as an Assistant Whip in the Labour Government, but was fired following comments regarding a leadership contest to replace PM Gordon Brown.She...
, a MP who during her time in office had never voted against the government, spoke of the need for discussion over Brown's position. McDonagh, a junior government whip, was sacked from her role shortly afterwards, on 12 September. Whilst McDonagh did not state that she wanted Brown deposed, she implored the Labour party to hold a leadership election. McDonagh spoke of a "huge number" of Labour MPs who wanted a leadership election; her views were somewhat substantiated in the following days when several Labour MPs, including Field, Joan Ryan
Joan Ryan
Joan Marie Ryan is a politician in the United Kingdom. She was member of Parliament for Enfield North between 1997 and 2010, and is a member of the Labour Party. She had previously been deputy leader of Barnet Council....
(who applied, as McDonagh had, for leadership nomination papers, and became the second rebel to be fired from her job), Jim Dowd
Jim Dowd (politician)
James Patrick Dowd is a British Labour Party politician, who has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, first for Lewisham West and since 2010 for Lewisham West and Penge.-Early life:...
, Greg Pope
Greg Pope
Gregory James "Greg" Pope is a former British Labour Party politician, who served as Member of Parliament for Hyndburn from 1992 until retiring at the 2010 general election. He was a government whip until the reshuffle following the 2001 general election.-Early life:He went to St Marys College R.C...
, and a string of others who had previously held positions in government, made clear their desire for a contest. In an unrelated incident, 12 backbenchers signed their names to a letter criticising Brown in Progress magazine. Eric Joyce
Eric Joyce
Eric Stuart Joyce is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Falkirk since 2005. Joyce served as a Private in the Black Watch before attending University and subsequently rejoining the army as a commissioned officer...
, one of the MPs who signed this letter, said that Brown's future hinged on his performance at the upcoming Labour party conference
Labour Party (UK) Conference
The Labour Party Conference, or annual national conference of the Labour Party, is formally the supreme decision-making body of the Party.-Conference decisions:...
.
A Downing Street source responded to these revelations by stating that, "The Blairite
Blairite
In British politics, the term Blairism refers to the political ideology of former leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister Tony Blair, who left both positions in 2007 to become Envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East...
s have been talking up the idea of loads of ministers resigning. But the best they can come up with is an assistant government whip." Tony Lloyd
Tony Lloyd
Anthony Joseph 'Tony' Lloyd is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Manchester Central since 1997.-Early life:...
, chairman of the parliamentary Labour Party, labelled the rebellion a "bit of a sideshow", and Emily Thornberry
Emily Thornberry
Emily Anne Thornberry is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Islington South and Finsbury since 2005.-Before Parliament:...
MP called Brown the "best qualified" to lead Britain through the economic crisis of 2008. The Labour party admitted that it had received letters from a small number of MPs querying why no nomination papers had been released.
In the face of this growing speculation over Brown's future, the majority of his ministers also backed him to lead the party, and two, Harriet Harman
Harriet Harman
Harriet Ruth Harman QC is a British Labour Party politician, who is the Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham, and was MP for the predecessorPeckham constituency from 1982 to 1997...
and David Miliband
David Miliband
David Wright Miliband is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for South Shields since 2001, and was the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2007 to 2010. He is the elder son of the late Marxist theorist Ralph Miliband...
, vigorously denied that they were preparing leadership bids. After the shock loss that Labour suffered in the Glasgow East by-election
Glasgow East by-election, 2008
The 2008 Glasgow East by-election was a by-election for the UK Parliamentary constituency of Glasgow East which was held on 24 July 2008. The election was triggered when, on 30 June 2008, the sitting MP David Marshall stood down due to ill health....
in July, Harman, the deputy leader of the party, suppressed rumours regarding her intentions, saying that Brown was the "solution", not the "problem"; Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, Justice Secretary Jack Straw
Jack Straw
Jack Straw , British politician.Jack Straw may also refer to:* Jack Straw , English* "Jack Straw" , 1971 song by the Grateful Dead* Jack Straw by W...
, Schools Secretary Ed Balls
Ed Balls
Edward Michael Balls, known as Ed Balls, is a British Labour politician, who has been a Member of Parliament since 2005, currently for Morley and Outwood, and is the current Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer....
and Cabinet Office Minister Ed Miliband
Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel Miliband is a British Labour Party politician, currently the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition...
all re-affirmed their support for Brown. The deputy Prime Minister under Blair, John Prescott
John Prescott
John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott is a British politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. Born in Prestatyn, Wales, he represented Hull East as the Labour Member of Parliament from 1970 to 2010...
, also pledged his support. Foreign Secretary David Miliband was then forced to deny that he was plotting a leadership bid, when on 30 July, an article written by him in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
was interpreted by a large number in the media as an attempt to undermine Brown. In the article, Miliband outlined the party's future, but neglected to mention the Prime Minister. Miliband, who had been forced to quell rumours that he would run against Brown in the leadership election of 2007
Labour Party (UK) leadership election, 2007
The 2007 Labour Party Leadership Election was formally triggered on 10 May 2007 by the resignation of Tony Blair, Labour Leader since the previous leadership contest on 21 July 1994...
, responded to this by saying that he was confident Brown could lead Labour to victory in the 2010 General Election, and that his article was an attack against the fatalism
Fatalism
Fatalism is a philosophical doctrine emphasizing the subjugation of all events or actions to fate.Fatalism generally refers to several of the following ideas:...
that had dogged the party since the loss of Glasgow-East. Miliband continued to show his support for Brown in the face of the challenge that emerged in September, as did Business Secretary John Hutton
John Hutton (Labour MP)
John Matthew Patrick Hutton, Baron Hutton of Furness is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Barrow and Furness in Cumbria from 1992 to 2010, and has served in a number of Cabinet offices, including Defence Secretary and Business Secretary...
, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn
Hilary Benn
Hilary James Wedgwood Benn is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Leeds Central since 1999. He served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development from 2003 to 2007 and as the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs...
, and Chief Whip Geoff Hoon
Geoff Hoon
Geoffrey "Geoff" William Hoon is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Ashfield from 1992 to 2010...
.
2009 local and European elections
Labour suffered a historic defeat in the local electionsUnited Kingdom local elections, 2009
The 2009 United Kingdom local elections were elections held to all 27 County Councils, three existing Unitary Authorities and five new Unitary Authorities, all in England, on 4 June 2009...
and European elections, finishing third place behind the Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
and United Kingdom Independence Party
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
(UKIP). Voter apathy was reflected in the historically low turnout of around 33%. In Scotland, voter turnout was only 28%. In the local elections, Labour finished third place behind the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
, with Labour losing control of the four councils it had held prior to the election. In a vote widely considered to be a reaction to the expenses scandal, the share of the votes was down for all the major parties; Labour was down 1%, the Conservative share was down 5%t. The beneficiary of the public backlash was generally seen to be the minor parties, including the Green party
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...
and UKIP. Brown was quoted in the press as having said that the results were "a painful defeat for Labour", and that "too many good people doing so much good for their communities and their constituencies have lost through no fault of their own."
The days leading up to the elections saw the resignations of several high profile cabinet ministers. These included the Europe Minister Caroline Flint
Caroline Flint
Caroline Louise Flint is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Don Valley since 1997. She served as the Minister of State for Housing and Planning in 2008, and later as the Minister for Europe until her resignation in 2009, citing the leadership of Gordon...
, Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
Jacqui Smith
Jacqui Smith
Jacqueline Jill "Jacqui" Smith is a member of the British Labour Party. She served as the Member of Parliament for Redditch from 1997 until 2010 and was the first ever female Home Secretary, thus making her the third woman to hold one of the Great Offices of State — after Margaret Thatcher and...
, the Minister for Children
Department for Children, Schools and Families
The Department for Children, Schools and Families was a department of the UK government, between 2007 and 2010, responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education...
, Beverley Hughes
Beverley Hughes
Beverley June Hughes, Baroness Hughes of Stretford is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Stretford and Urmston from 1997 to 2010. In 2004, she was appointed to the Privy Council...
, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, is a Cabinet position heading the UK's Department for Communities and Local Government....
, Hazel Blears
Hazel Blears
Hazel Anne Blears is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Salford and Eccles since 2010 and was previously the MP for Salford since 1997...
, and Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell
James Purnell
James Mark Dakin Purnell is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Stalybridge and Hyde from 2001 to 2010. He is currently the Head of the Open Left project at the left leaning think tank Demos...
, who resigned minutes after the polls for the local
United Kingdom local elections, 2009
The 2009 United Kingdom local elections were elections held to all 27 County Councils, three existing Unitary Authorities and five new Unitary Authorities, all in England, on 4 June 2009...
and European elections
European Parliament election, 2009 (United Kingdom)
The European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2009 European Parliament election, the voting for which was held on Thursday 4 June 2009, coinciding with the 2009 local elections in England. Most of the results of the election were announced on Sunday 7 June, after...
had closed, and sent a letter to the Prime Minister calling on him to step aside.
The results of the local elections
United Kingdom local elections, 2009
The 2009 United Kingdom local elections were elections held to all 27 County Councils, three existing Unitary Authorities and five new Unitary Authorities, all in England, on 4 June 2009...
were announced the following day, with the remaining councils under Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
control all falling to the Conservative Party's control. The projected national vote shares suggested that the Conservatives achieved 38% of the vote, the Liberal Democrats 28% and Labour 23%. In the aftermath of these results, Brown reshuffled his cabinet amidst some pressure on his leadership. Further pressure was added following the results of the European parliamentary elections, which were announced on 7 June. These showed large declines in the vote of the Labour Party. The far-right British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
also won their first ever seats in a national election, being elected in North West England
North West England (European Parliament constituency)
North West England is a constituency of the European Parliament. For the 2009 elections it elects 8 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.-Boundaries:...
and Yorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber (European Parliament constituency)
Yorkshire and the Humber is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.- Boundaries :...
.
All of these events led to mounting speculation about Brown's future as Prime Minister, and a possible leadership challenge. However, after facing down his critics, Gordon Brown was applauded at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party
Parliamentary Labour Party
In UK politics, the Parliamentary Labour Party is the parliamentary party of the Labour Party in Parliament: Labour MPs as a collective body....
on 8 June. Brown continued to be unpopular, however, and in September, Britain's biggest selling newspaper, The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
announced that it would withdraw its support for the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
and gave its backing to the Conservatives, thus ending 12 years of support for Labour from the paper.
An attempt was eventually made to challenge Brown's leadership when, in January 2010 Patricia Hewitt
Patricia Hewitt
Patricia Hope Hewitt is an Australian-born British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Leicester West from 1997 until 2010. She served in the Cabinet until 2007, most recently as Health Secretary....
and Geoff Hoon
Geoff Hoon
Geoffrey "Geoff" William Hoon is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Ashfield from 1992 to 2010...
wrote to Labour MPs calling for a secret ballot on the issue. Their letter claimed that the party was "deeply divided" and the issue should be sorted out "once and for all". However, the plot failed to gather any momentum after several senior cabinet ministers spoke out in support of Brown.
Allegations of bullying
On 31 January 2010, the Mail on Sunday reported that a book written by the journalist Andrew RawnsleyAndrew Rawnsley
Andrew Nicholas James Rawnsley is a British political journalist, notably for The Observer, and broadcaster.-Early life:...
would make allegations that Brown had flown into a series of rages and physically attacked members of his staff. The claims were fiercely denied by Brown's colleagues, and by Brown himself in an interview with the television presenter Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan , known professionally as Piers Morgan, is a British journalist and television presenter. He is editorial director of First News, a national newspaper for children....
in which he said "I have never hit anybody in my life." The book, The End of the Party, was published on 1 March 2010 after being serialised in a Sunday newspaper throughout February.
In February 2010 Christine Pratt, founder of the National Bullying Helpline
National Bullying Helpline
The National Bullying Helpline was a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established as a business in 2006 by Christine and David Pratt, appearing to service the needs of victims of workplace bullying, and was awarded charity status in 2007...
claimed that the helpline had taken calls from Downing Street
Downing Street
Downing Street in London, England has for over two hundred years housed the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now synonymous with that of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an...
staff, although she later stated that the calls did not refer to Brown himself. This led to the resignations of three of the charity's patrons: Cary Cooper
Cary Cooper
Cary Cooper CBE is a Canadian psychologist and Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at Lancaster University Management School.Prior to working at Lancaster University, Cooper was Head of the Manchester School of Management from the early 80s, In 1995 he became Pro-Vice Chancellor and...
, Ann Widdecombe
Ann Widdecombe
Ann Noreen Widdecombe is a former British Conservative Party politician and has been a novelist since 2000. She is a Privy Councillor and was the Member of Parliament for Maidstone from 1987 to 1997 and for Maidstone and The Weald from 1997 to 2010. She was a social conservative and a member of...
and Sarah Cawood
Sarah Cawood
Sarah Cawood is an English television presenter.-Career:Cawood grew up in the Cambridgeshire village of Maxey and was educated at Stamford High School, Lincolnshire near Peterborough, United Kingdom. She also attended the Royal Ballet School and Arts Educational Schools London.Between 1995 and...
. The Charity Commission
Charity Commission
The Charity Commission for England and Wales is the non-ministerial government department that regulates registered charities in England and Wales....
later said that it had received over 160 complaints concerning the helpline's handling of the situation, and as a result of the fallout it was voluntarily suspended, although it resumed service two days later.
2010 general election
On 6 April 2010, Gordon Brown visited Buckingham PalaceBuckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
to seek the Queen's permission to dissolve Parliament on 12 April, thus triggering a general election on 6 May. Announcing the election shortly afterwards, Brown described it as the "least well-kept secret of recent years", since 6 May had been predicted as the most likely date for an election for some time. Labour's manifesto for the election was unveiled by Brown on 12 April under the party's election slogan of "A future fair for all", with the Prime Minister saying that Labour had a "plan for the future". Key pledges in the manifesto included;
- No rise in income taxIncome taxAn income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
rate during the next Parliament - No extension in VATValue added taxA value added tax or value-added tax is a form of consumption tax. From the perspective of the buyer, it is a tax on the purchase price. From that of the seller, it is a tax only on the "value added" to a product, material or service, from an accounting point of view, by this stage of its...
to food and children's clothes - A new global banks levy
- No stamp dutyStamp dutyStamp duty is a tax that is levied on documents. Historically, this included the majority of legal documents such as cheques, receipts, military commissions, marriage licences and land transactions. A physical stamp had to be attached to or impressed upon the document to denote that stamp duty...
for first time buyers on homes below £250,000 - A pledge to raise minimum wage in line with earnings
- The right for constituents to recall MPs
- Referendums on democratic House of Lords and changing the voting system
- Plans to double paternity leave from two to four weeks
- A pledge not to privatise Royal MailRoyal MailRoyal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
during the next Parliament
The main opposition parties were critical in their response to the manifesto. The Conservative Party said that it would "change nothing", while the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
claimed that Labour wouldn't reform tax and politics. Conservative leader David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
said: "There is nothing new there, there is nothing different there." Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg
Nick Clegg
Nicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform in the coalition government of which David Cameron is the Prime Minister...
questioned how Labour could deliver "fairness and new politics" when they had promised the same at previous general elections, but failed to do so.
The election campaign saw the United Kingdom's first televised debates between the leaders of the three main parties. While Cameron and Clegg were generally perceived to have performed well in these, Brown was seen to have done less well. Brown also attracted criticism from the media after privately describing on 28 April, whilst in a car with his staff, a 65-year-old pensioner, Gillian Duffy, from Rochdale
Rochdale
Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, as a "bigoted woman" after she stated that entitled people were not receiving benefits because non-entitled people are receiving them. She also expressed her displeasure at immigration from Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. His remarks were recorded by a Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
microphone he was still wearing following a visit to Rochdale, and widely broadcast.
At the election Labour lost 91 seats in the House of Commons, but the rival Conservatives failed to achieve an overall majority, resulting in the first hung parliament
Hung parliament
In a two-party parliamentary system of government, a hung parliament occurs when neither major political party has an absolute majority of seats in the parliament . It is also less commonly known as a balanced parliament or a legislature under no overall control...
since 1974
United Kingdom general election, February 1974
The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
. Under the constitution governing what happens in the event of a hung parliament Brown remained temporarily as prime minister, while the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
and Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
entered into talks aimed at forming a coalition government
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
. Talks also took place between the Liberal Democrats and Labour. On 10 May, Brown announced his intention to step down as leader of the Labour Party, and instructed the party to put into motion the processes to elect
Labour Party (UK) leadership election, 2010
The 2010 Labour Party leadership election was triggered by a general election which resulted in a hung parliament. On 10 May, Gordon Brown resigned as Leader of the Labour Party. The following day, he stepped down as Prime Minister....
a new leader. Brown's continued presence as Prime Minister was seen as a stumbling block to formulating a Labour-Liberal Democrat deal. By 11 May, however, the possibility of a deal was looking unlikely as talks between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats continued, and after concluding that he would not be able to form a government, Brown announced his resignation. He also said that he would be stepping down as leader of the Labour Party with immediate effect. Brown was succeeded
Premiership of David Cameron
The premiership of David Cameron began on 11 May 2010 when Cameron accepted the Queen's invitation to form a government. This occurred upon the resignation of Cameron's predecessor as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Gordon Brown...
as Prime Minister by David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
, while Harriet Harman
Harriet Harman
Harriet Ruth Harman QC is a British Labour Party politician, who is the Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham, and was MP for the predecessorPeckham constituency from 1982 to 1997...
became acting leader of the Labour Party.