Goodbye Gordon Brown

Posted By Joshua Keating Tuesday, May 11, 2010 - 3:15 PM Share

It's official. Gordon Brown has stepped down as prime minister of Great Britain.

Never having been elected and serving only three unpopular years as prime minister after many more in waiting, Brown won't be remembered as one of Britain's great leaders, and that's probably deserved. All the same, the outgoing prime minister has a good case to claim that he's been a victim of historical circumstance. On the main factor that propelled David Cameron into 10 Downing Street, the global financial crisis, even Brown's opponents admit he has "mostly made the right decisions."

But after 13 years under what should probably no longer be called "New Labour," British voters are hungry for a change. I was reminded today of a professor I had in college who once confidently told his class that under Tony Blair, Labour had likely created a "permanent majority" along the lines of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party. Even at the time, the statement seemed a bit overconfident. But today, when neither of those parties are in power, it's a reminder that the only constant in politics is change.

David Cameron faces a full in-tray right off the bat, particularly in the realm of foreign policy, which never really played much of a role in the election. Alistair Burnett's recent piece for FP is a great primer on the tough decisions that the new prime minister will face.

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

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EUGENESUCKS

4:34 PM ET

May 11, 2010

hoped for a little better, particularly here

"Never having been elected..." I believe you'll find that in British Parliamentary elections the voting is limited to a candidate for MP in your own constituency. This candidate is most likely the member of a major political party. Each political party internally chooses its own head. Basically you can't vote for Gordon Brown unless you live in the Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency, where coincidentally he was elected again last week.

CIGRAINGER

5:46 PM ET

May 11, 2010

Great Britain?

Can we please be clear that Gordon Brown was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and not 'Great Britain'? 'Great Britain' is not a country -- it is the island consisting of England, Wales, and Scotland. Gordon Brown was, and now David Cameron is, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This is a horribly common error in US media.

ROB FULLER

7:29 PM ET

May 11, 2010

United Kingdom

Yes, I agree with CIGRAINGER: a little more attention to detail in your reporting would be appreciated (and the existence of Northern Ireland is hardly a small detail). I suppose we should be thankful you didn't say "Prime Minister of England"...

NICHOLAS WIBBERLEY

5:35 AM ET

May 12, 2010

Grammar

A little more attention to grammar would not go amiss either: neither “is”, rather than neither “are”. Neither of these matters in the broad scheme of things but they do distract, somewhat like soup stains on trousers.

FEIZHULIU

8:06 PM ET

May 12, 2010

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