Gordon Brown to resign as Labour leader
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Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced that he is stepping down as leader of the Labour Party, with a new leader to be in place by the Labour Party conference in September.
In a statement released this afternoon, he says he will ask the Labour party to set in motion a leadership contest to replace him. He says he has “no desire to stay in my position longer than is needed to ensure that the path to economic growth is secured”.
Brown says Liberal Democrats leader Nick Clegg wants to begin formal discussions with the Labour Party and plans are now being made to allow that to happen.
The LibDems and Tories are still in talks about forming either a coalition government or a pact to allow the Conservatives to rule with a minority of MPs in Parliament. The Tories are offering the LibDems significant tax concessions but are not willing to offer a referendum on proportional representation.
Labour has already indicated that it would be willing to offer a PR referendum. Labour and the LibDems could form a coalition government with the help of minority parties such as the SNP, who have indicated their support for such a move.
Brown says: “Mr Clegg has just informed me he wants to take forward formal discussions with the Labour party. I believe it is sensible and in the national interest to respond positively. The cabinet will meet soon and a formal policy negotiating process is being established similar to the negotiations between other parties.
“I believe it could be in the interest of the whole country to form a progressive coalition government. Our commitments on a new voting system for the House of Commons and for the election of the House of Lords are clearly part of this.”
He adds: “I have no desire to stay in my desire to stay in my position longer than is needed to ensure the pass to economic growth is ensured and the process of political reform we have agreed moves forward quickly.
“The reason we have a hung Parliament is that no single party and no single leader was able to win the full support of the country. As leader of my party I must accept that is a judgement on me. I therefore intend to ask the Labour party to set in train the process needed for its own leadership election.”
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Readers' comments (24)
Anonymous | 10 May 2010 5:25 pm
If this coalition between Labour and the Lib Dems comes about, all those that voted Conservative should take to the streets to display their horror
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john higgins | 10 May 2010 5:25 pm
he wants out as, like Mr Blair, he knows that you earn more money as an ex-prime minister. What's the point of staying somewhere that you are not wanted.
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Michael Fallas | 10 May 2010 5:30 pm
Will Conservative votes I wonder take to the streets if we end up with a Labour/Liberal government.
The two losing parties get to win and govern us for the next 5 years just doesn't seem right to me especially given the terrible financial position we are in partly due to Labour.
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Anonymous | 10 May 2010 5:31 pm
Who do these people think they are. They claim in the interest of the country and it is entirely about THEM and what power they can come out of this mess with. GB has been a disaster for this country since 1997 and has taken a profitable 'business' and during some of the most bouyant economic years in history managed to take it to the brink of bankruptcy. But remember -it is all for our benefit. As for 'majority' no one may have got a majority 'yes' but GB had a 70% vote against - now even with his mathematical limitations he must be able to work that one out!
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Anonymous | 10 May 2010 5:38 pm
Proportional representation is just and fair and until we get that no one has the right to govern this country. No more to be said.
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Mike Jordan | 10 May 2010 5:39 pm
If he's saying that he has no plans to stay in his job for any longer than necessary to ensure the path to economic growth then surely that means he should have cleared off about 13 years ago. Based on the amount of money he's lost us all he should be heading off to prison rather than a cosy retirement in which he makes a packet from writing his self-praising memoirs in which he blames everyone else for the disaster he created.
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Anonymous | 10 May 2010 5:41 pm
If you dont like the way thye constitiution is then change it; howver if you want to keep it the way it is( like the tories) you have to live with it.
The rule of law states, that you must have 326 votes to have a majority goverment, Dave and his boys dont so its tough- not everybody is true blue and some dont trust old George Osbourne as chancellor. If is was the other way round I couldnt see Dave Boy in a hurry to bow out.
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Anonymous | 10 May 2010 5:45 pm
And how fair would it be to have a conservative government in charge of Scotland when they only managed to get one seat?
Surely a coalition where all parts of the UK are represented would be a better proposition. I think a lot of people have short memories here but I certainly remember the mess that the Tories got us into the last time!
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Mike Jordan | 10 May 2010 5:46 pm
Hello Mr "Anonymous" Proportional Representation Man (not sure why you're hiding your identity??) Anyway, I think voting reform would be a good idea but I'm not sure about PR as it sends like a right mess. How about the current system as round one and then, in each seat we get to vote for a second time where we all have to choose between the first and second placed from each constituency?
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Sean | 10 May 2010 5:47 pm
Proportional representation = hung government everytime. We all no Labours record on promising things and never delivering (Referendum on Europe springs to mind). It horrifies me that both parties who lost seats at the election could now form the Government.
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