M A I N   N E W S

Brown quits, Cameron to take over

London, May 11
Gordon Brown resigned as Prime Minister of Britain today and said Conservative leader David Cameron would take over, ending 13 years of rule by the centre-left Labour Party.

The Conservatives won most seats in a Parliamentary election last week but fell short of a majority. Labour came second and the LibDems a distant third. Both the Conservatives and Labour tried to win LibDem support to form the next government during five days of intense negotiations, but it became clear today that Labour had lost and Brown would have to resign.

“I have informed the Queen’s private secretary that it’s my intention to tender my resignation to the Queen,” Brown told reporters outside his Downing Street office. The sequence of events was in accordance with British Constitutional convention.

Brown’s statement made clear that the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats had secured some sort of power-sharing arrangement, but the exact details were not yet known. Earlier, Britain’s sterling currency jumped 1 per cent against the dollar and government bonds rallied on reports that a Conservative/Lib Dem deal was imminent. Markets want a quick resolution to the uncertainty and favour a Conservative-led government because they believe it would move faster and harder to cut Britain’s record budget deficit.

The Lib Dems had turned to the Conservatives first, on the basis that they had won most votes and most seats in last Thursday’s election. But Brown threw a spanner in the works on Monday when he said he would step aside in coming months.

The move was aimed at tempting the Lib Dems away from the Conservatives and into an alliance with Labour. The Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg had made it clear during the campaign he did not wish to prop up the unpopular Brown.

Britain is emerging from its worst recession since the World War II with a record budget deficit that analysts believe will only be cut effectively by a strong and stable government. — Reuters