Misplaced Pages

#490509

112-509: Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, then Chancellor of the Exchequer and Prime Minister respectively, appointed Peter Gershon, at that time the head of the Office of Government Commerce , to review operations across all public services and make recommendations regarding expenditure and efficiency. His report recommended making savings for Financial Year 2005–6, to be achieved through dramatic changes to

224-569: A No vote, Brown was subsequently a key participant in the Scottish Constitutional Convention , signing the Claim of Right for Scotland in 1989. Labour leader John Smith died suddenly in May 1994. Brown did not contest the leadership after Tony Blair became the favourite to win the 1994 leadership election , deciding to make way for Blair to avoid splitting the pro-modernising vote in

336-411: A bank rescue package worth around £500 billion (approximately $ 850 billion), a temporary 2.5 percentage point cut in value-added tax and a "car scrappage" scheme. In mid-2008, Brown's leadership was presented with a challenge as some MPs openly called for him to resign. This event was dubbed the 'Lancashire Plot', as two backbenchers from (pre-1974) Lancashire urged him to step down and

448-460: A new bill extending the pre-charge detention period to 42 days . The bill was met with opposition on both sides of the House and backbench rebellion. In the end, the bill passed by just nine votes. 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". Brown

560-671: A consequence, borrowing , which the previous government had planned to be £19bn for 1998, was now forecast to be £5bn for 1998, a little under £4bn for 1999, and was expected to be in balance by 2000. On economic growth, Brown said it was dependent on "what happens to wage inflation over the coming year. It would be the worst of short-termism to pay ourselves more today at the cost of higher interest rates, fewer jobs and slower growth tomorrow. All of us must therefore show greater responsibility." He suggested wage inflation would slow growth from 2.5% to 2% in 1998, and similarly predicted percentage figures of between one and three quarters and two and

672-522: A cost of £3bn a year, I can now return income tax to just two rates by removing the 10p band on non-savings income". Brown also implemented the Windfall Tax in 1997 on the privatised utilities. The tax produced an estimated one-off income to the government of £5 billion, which was used to fund the New Deal for Young People, a welfare-to-work program that sought to tackle long-term unemployment. According to

784-803: A former Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer, said "nearly every fact he used was false." Between 1999 and 2002 Brown sold 60% of the UK's gold reserves shortly before gold entered a protracted bull market, since nicknamed by dealers as the Brown Bottom or Brown's Bottom. The official reason for selling the gold reserves was to reduce the portfolio risk of the UK's reserves by diversifying away from gold. The UK eventually sold about 395 tons of gold over 17 auctions from July 1999 to March 2002, at an average price of about US$ 275 per ounce, raising approximately US$ 3.5 billion. By 2011, that quantity of gold would be worth over $ 19 billion, leading to Brown's decision to sell

896-491: A leadership contest. A BBC report states that the decisive nomination was made by Tony Wright with MacKinlay yet to nominate at that point. Brown replaced Blair as Leader of the Labour Party on 24 June 2007. After Blair tendered his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II , Brown was invited by the queen to form a government and become Prime Minister on 27 June 2007. In his first speech as prime minister, Brown said "This will be

1008-452: A long-term plan for economic growth and success. He reported that the five-year plan to reduce the UK's deficit announced in his 1997 budget was being achieved at a faster rate than had been forecast, with the UK national debt having come down by £17bn, or 2% of national income, since July 1997. He expressed a need for caution, and said that he would "lock in this fiscal tightening" for 1998–99. As

1120-435: A main rate of 33% (pre-1997) to 30% (1999) and then 28% (2007), and from 24% to 19% for small businesses (although the lower rate was set to rise to 22% by 2010). Under Brown, telecom radio frequency auctions gathered £22,500,000,000 for the government. By using a system of sealed bids and only selling a restricted number of licences, they extracted high prices from the telecom operators. Germany at this time applied

1232-460: A major and hotly argued row in the media in which Oxford strongly denied these accusations. With his comments, Brown can arguably be credited with raising widening participation to higher education up the political agenda . However, many of his opponents said Brown's comments were ill-founded; including Lord Jenkins (then Chancellor of the University of Oxford) who said "nearly every fact he used

SECTION 10

#1733126574491

1344-570: A message to young people—this is not acceptable". Professor Nutt's predecessor at the ACMD, Sir Michael Rawlins , later said, "Governments may well have good reasons for taking an alternative view ... When that happens, then the government should explain why it's ignoring the particular advice". Brown's premiership coincided with the global recession , during which Brown called for fiscal action in an attempt to stimulate aggregate demand. Domestically, Brown's administration introduced measures including

1456-529: A new government with new priorities and I have been privileged to have been granted the great opportunity to serve my country. And at all times I will be strong in purpose, steadfast in will, resolute in action, in the service of what matters to the British people, meeting the concerns and aspirations of our whole country." Brown rescinded some of the policies which had been introduced or were planned by Blair's administration. He remained committed to close ties with

1568-651: A prominent role in the campaign to maintain the union during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum , and in 2022 wrote a report on devolution for Labour leader Keir Starmer . Brown has served as the UN Special Envoy for Global Education and Ambassador for Global Health Financing for the World Health Organization . Brown was appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour by King Charles III in

1680-446: A quarter for 1999, and between two and a quarter and two and three quarters for 2000." The budget took place during a period of continuing economic expansion, shortly after the launch of the Euro currency on 1 January 1999, and at the tail end of the dot-com bubble . During 1998, net public sector debt stood at £361.2 billion, 35.6 per cent of GDP. Interest rates had declined rapidly over

1792-460: A reduced majority and reduced vote share. Blair announced on 7 September 2006 that he would step down within a year. Brown was the clear favourite to succeed Blair; he was the only candidate spoken of seriously in Westminster. Appearances and news coverage leading up to the handover were interpreted as preparing the ground for Brown to become prime minister, in part by creating the impression of

1904-466: A similar auction; some allege that these together caused a severe recession in the European telecoms development industry (2001 Telecoms crash ) with the loss of 100,000 jobs across Europe, 30,000 of those in the UK. But, as Paul Klemperer , one of the designers of the auctions, points out, "[t]he United States held no 3G auctions, yet telecoms companies lost just as much: in fact, they lost more." Once

2016-505: A statesman with a vision for leadership and global change . This enabled Brown to signal the most significant priorities for his agenda as prime minister; speaking at a Fabian Society conference on 'The Next Decade' in January 2007, he stressed education, international development, narrowing inequalities (to pursue 'equality of opportunity and fairness of outcome'), renewing Britishness, restoring trust in politics, and winning hearts and minds in

2128-527: A technical change in the way corporation tax is collected, the indirect effect of which was for the dividends on equity investments held within pensions to be taxed, thus lowering pension returns and allegedly contributing to the demise of some pension funds. The Treasury contend that this tax change was crucial to long-term economic growth: the existing corporation tax system created biased incentives for corporations to pay out profits as dividends to shareholders (including pension funds, who could then reclaim

2240-590: 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. In the autumn, Siobhain McDonagh , an MP and junior government whip, who during her time in office had never voted against

2352-451: A time when departmental headcount and budgets are being cut. In reality, the 'Gershon reviews' have been applied in waves across organisations. In many instances the Treasury has interpreted this release of resources to be a cost saving for reallocation outside to other projects or departments. Relocations recommended by Gershon have resulted in considerable loss of expertise, for example at

SECTION 20

#1733126574491

2464-407: A vastly reduced majority. During his chancellorship, Brown outlined five economic tests , which resisted the UK adopting the euro currency . Controversial moves included the abolition of advance corporation tax (ACT) relief in his first budget, the sale of UK gold reserves from 1999 to 2002 , and the removal in his final budget of the 10% starting rate of income tax which he had introduced in

2576-619: Is 5.5%, down from 7% in 1997 and lower than the Eurozone's average of 8.1%. In October 1997, Brown took control of the United Kingdom's membership of the European single currency issue by announcing the Treasury would set five economic tests to ascertain whether the economic case had been made. In June 2003, the Treasury indicated the tests had not been passed. Between 1999 and 2002, Brown sold 60% of UK gold reserves at $ 275 an ounce. It

2688-410: Is appointed by the Treasury. Brown adhered to Labour's 1997 election manifesto pledge not to increase the basic or higher rates of income tax . He reduced the starting rate from 20% (pre-1997) to 10% in 1999, before abolishing the starting rate in 2007; a decision that led to an immense backbench revolt, and reduced the basic rate from 23% (pre-1997) to 22% (2000) and then 20% (2007). Brown increased

2800-468: Is appropriate to remove much of the unpayable Third World debt but does not think all debt should be wiped out. When Labour was re-elected for a third consecutive term at the 2005 general election (though with a vastly reduced majority following the landslide victories at the previous two elections), many MPs spoke of the Labour election victory as being Brown's achievement rather than Blair's; while Blair

2912-607: Is collected, the indirect effect of which was for the dividends on stock investments held within pensions to be taxed, thus lowering pension returns and contributing to the demise of most of the final salary pension funds in the UK. Brown's 2000 Spending Review outlined a major expansion of government spending , particularly on health and education. In his April 2002 budget, Brown increased National Insurance to pay for health spending. He also introduced working tax credits , and in his last budget as Chancellor, Brown gave an extra £3 billion in pension allowances, an increase in

3024-634: Is horrible". Nonetheless, in November 2007 Brown was accused by some senior military figures of not adhering to the Military Covenant , a convention within British politics ensuring adequate safeguards, rewards and compensation for military personnel who risk their lives in obedience to orders derived from the policy of the elected government. Brown did not attend the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics on 8 August 2008 in Beijing ; instead, he attended

3136-509: Is not an option – it is a necessity. For economies to flourish, for global poverty to be banished, for the well-being of the world's people to be enhanced – not just in this generation but in succeeding generations – we have a compelling and ever more urgent duty of stewardship to take care of the natural environment and resources on which our economic activity and social fabric depends. … A new paradigm that sees economic growth, social justice and environmental care advancing together can become

3248-501: Is one of several ideas borrowed from the US Clinton administration whereby welfare payments are accounted for as negative taxation. The separate means-testing process for tax credits has been criticised by some as bureaucratic, and in 2003–04 and 2004–05 problems in the system led to overpayments of £2,200,000,000 and £1,800,000,000 respectively. However, economic theory suggests tax credits can strengthen work incentives for those at

3360-645: The 2024 Birthday Honours for public and charitable services in the UK and abroad. As chancellor, Brown had high approval ratings and a poll of political scientists rated him the most successful chancellor in terms of economic stability, working independently from the prime minister and leaving a lasting legacy on the British economy . His premiership has been viewed less favourably; although public opinion of Brown has improved since he left office, his premiership has been viewed as average in historical rankings and public opinion of British prime ministers. James Gordon Brown

3472-608: The Bank of England , by a wide extension of the powers of the Treasury to cover much domestic policy and by transferring responsibility for banking supervision to the Financial Services Authority . Brown presided over the longest period of sustained economic growth in British history. Brown was appointed chancellor by Prime Minister Tony Blair following Labour's victory in the 1997 general election , its largest landslide general election victory in history, and served in

Gershon Review - Misplaced Pages Continue

3584-539: The Consumer Price Index and transferred responsibility for banking supervision to the Financial Services Authority . Some commentators have argued that this division of responsibilities exacerbated the severity in Britain of the 2007–2008 financial crisis . During the 1997 election campaign and subsequently, Brown pledged not to increase the basic or higher rates of income tax . Over his Chancellorship he reduced

3696-762: The Firth of Forth from Edinburgh – when Gordon was three. Brown was brought up there with his elder brother John and younger brother Andrew in a manse ; he is therefore often referred to as a "son of the manse", an idiomatic Scottish phrase, similar to the American phrase " preacher's kid ". Brown was educated first at Kirkcaldy West Primary School, where he was selected for an experimental fast stream education programme, which took him two years early to Kirkcaldy High School for an academic hothouse education taught in separate classes. Aged 16, he wrote that he loathed and resented this "ludicrous" experiment on young lives. He

3808-497: The Freedom of Information Act showed that civil servants warned at the time that the move, which generated £5,000,000,000 in tax revenue, could lead to the closure of many occupational schemes, which subsequently came to pass. In 2008, a biographer of Brown, Tom Bower , claimed that Brown had originally sought a larger sum from pension funds, but backed down in the face of opposition. In contrast, corporation tax fell under Brown, from

3920-553: 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 would hold an inquiry into the war . Brown went to great lengths to empathise with those who lost family members in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. He has often said "War is tragic", echoing Blair's quote, "War

4032-603: The Middle England demographic who had voted for the party the previous year, thus helping Tony Blair to become prime minister, while offering help to those on low incomes. His statement set out to achieve four objectives—stability, enterprise, welfare reform and strong public services. He told the House of Commons: "For decades, under Governments of both parties, the great economic strengths of our country have been undermined by deep-seated structural weaknesses—instability, under-investment, unemployment." He hoped to address this with

4144-467: The OECD , UK taxation increased from a 39.3% share of gross domestic product in 1997 to 42.4% in 2006, going to a higher level than that of Germany. This increase has mainly been attributed to active government policy, and not simply to the growing economy. Conservatives have accused Brown of imposing " stealth taxes ". A commonly reported example resulted in 1997 from a technical change in the way corporation tax

4256-468: The Transformational Government strategy . However, not all government functions present such clear opportunities; those with a large proportion of physical assets or customer-facing staff have great challenges to offer the equivalent level of savings without suffering damage to their level of service. The timeframe also gives these organisations the challenge of investing in new services at

4368-510: The United States : "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 special relationship 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,

4480-562: The common sense of our age. In 2000, Brown started a major political row about higher education (referred to as the Laura Spence affair ) when he accused the University of Oxford of elitism in its admissions procedures. He described the university's decision not to offer a place to state school pupil Laura Spence as "absolutely outrageous" and implied its decision was based on her background rather than her academic potential. This started

4592-547: The general election . In the 1997 general election , Labour defeated the Conservatives by a landslide to end their 18-year exile from government, and when Tony Blair , the new Prime Minister, announced his ministerial team on 2 May 1997, he appointed Brown as Chancellor of the Exchequer . Brown would remain in this role for 10 years and two months, making him the longest-serving Chancellor in modern history. Some achievements from Brown's decade as chancellor included making

Gershon Review - Misplaced Pages Continue

4704-544: The manifesto for change . The manifesto included a clampdown on corruption and a new Ministerial Code , which set out clear standards of behaviour for ministers. He also stated in a speech when announcing his bid that he wanted a "better constitution" that is "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 and to look at rebalancing powers between Whitehall and local government. Brown said he would give Parliament

4816-492: The 1999 budget . Brown's tenure as chancellor set several records. He was the longest-serving Labour Party chancellor ever, beating Denis Healey , who was chancellor for 5 years and 2 months from 5 March 1974 to 4 May 1979. In June 2004, he became the longest continuous serving Chancellor since the Reform Act 1832 , passing the figure of 7 years and 43 days set by David Lloyd George (1908–1915). However, William Ewart Gladstone

4928-435: The ACMD, criticised this move in a lecture in 2009, he was asked to step down by then Home Secretary Alan Johnson . Following his resignation, Professor Nutt said Brown had "made up his mind" to reclassify cannabis despite evidence to the contrary. Brown had argued, "I don't think that the previous studies took into account that so much of the cannabis on the streets is now of a lethal quality and we really have got to send out

5040-574: The Bank of England independent and delivering an agreement on poverty and climate change at the G8 summit in 2005. On taking office as chancellor, Brown gave the Bank of England operational independence in monetary policy , and thus responsibility for setting interest rates through the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee . At the same time, he also changed the inflation measure from the Retail Price Index to

5152-525: The Conservatives (led by David Cameron ) in the polls. Disputes over political donations, a string of losses in local elections, and by-election losses in Crewe and Glasgow did himself and the government no favours either. Brown has since claimed that Labour would have won the 2007 election but he did not believe an early election was in the national interest. His political opponents accused him of being indecisive, which Brown denied. In July 2008, he supported

5264-513: The Conservatives formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats , Brown was succeeded as prime minister by Conservative leader David Cameron , and as Labour leader by Ed Miliband . After leaving office, Brown returned to the backbenches , continuing to serve as MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath until he gave up his seat in 2015. He has since made occasional political interventions, and published political-themed books. Brown played

5376-403: The House of Commons the government was spending more on debt than education, and set a five-year target to reduce the public deficit, while also announcing that the government would only borrow to invest and public debt would be held at a "prudent and stable level over the economic cycle". He set the underlying public sector borrowing requirement at £13.25bn for 1997–98, and £5.5bn for 1998–99. It

5488-443: The Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Tony Blair from 1997 to 2007. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Dunfermline East from 1983 to 2005, and Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath from 2005 to 2015. A doctoral graduate , Brown studied history at the University of Edinburgh . He spent his early career as a lecturer at a further education college and television journalist. Brown

5600-529: The Labour Party's annual conference in September, which caused controversy as he coupled this with a commitment to crack down on migrant workers. The Conservative Party, led by David Cameron , promptly pointed out that such a commitment was illegal under EU law. Other controversial statements made by Brown about migration included him stating that English lessons and taking mandatory community service should be prerequisites for being granted UK citizenship. During

5712-594: The Queen's Speech to Parliament on 3 December 2008, the Brown government unveiled plans to introduce lie detector tests, based on voice recognition technology, in order to determine whether to accept benefit claims. Despite having spent £2.4 million on these tests, trials performed by the Department for Work and Pensions showed that they were inaccurate approximately four of every seven times they were used. Brown had been committed to

SECTION 50

#1733126574491

5824-565: The UK adopting the euro . Controversial moves included the abolition of advance corporation tax (ACT) relief in his first budget, the sale of UK gold reserves from 1999 to 2002 , and the removal in his final budget of the 10% starting rate of income tax which he had introduced in the 1999 budget . Following Blair's resignation in 2007, Brown was elected unopposed to succeed him as prime minister and party leader. The party continued as New Labour, though Brown's style of government differed from Blair's. He remained committed to close ties with

5936-522: The UK's Office For National Statistics, which has been criticized by the Chair of the Treasury Select committee. The team that supported Sir Peter Gershon in this work was drawn from a number of Government departments and consultancy organisations: Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of

6048-497: The United Kingdom to adopt the European single currency. The Treasury indicated that the tests had not been passed in June 2003. In 2000, Brown was accused of starting a political row about higher education (referred to as the Laura Spence affair ) when he accused the University of Oxford of elitism in its admissions procedures, describing its decision not to offer a place to state school pupil Laura Spence as "absolutely outrageous". Lord Jenkins , then Oxford Chancellor and himself

6160-564: The United Kingdom was limited. During the autumn, UK fuel protests occurred due to rising petrol prices. During 1999, net public sector debt stood at £364.4 billion, 34.3 per cent of GDP. Interest rates had showed greater stability in comparison to the previous year, rising from 5 per cent in June 1999 to 6 per cent in February 2000 where it remained for the rest of the year. Inflation abated further during 1999 which recorded 1.3 per cent (CPI) and 1.5 per cent (RPI). The basic rate of income tax

6272-566: The United States and to the war in Iraq , although he established an inquiry into the reasons for Britain's participation in the conflict . Brown's government introduced rescue packages to keep banks afloat during the 2007–2008 financial crisis , and so national debt increased. The government took majority shareholdings in Northern Rock and Royal Bank of Scotland , which had experienced severe financial difficulties, and injected public money into other banks. In 2008, Brown's government passed

6384-438: The United States and to the war in Iraq, although he established an inquiry into the reasons for Britain's participation in the conflict . He proposed a "government of all the talents" which would involve co-opting leading personalities from industry and professional occupations into government positions. Brown also appointed Jacqui Smith as the UK's first female Home Secretary , while Brown's former position as chancellor of

6496-424: The University of Edinburgh, Brown was involved in a romantic relationship with Margarita, Crown Princess of Romania . Margarita said about it: "It was a very solid and romantic story. I never stopped loving him but one day it didn't seem right anymore, it was politics, politics, politics, and I needed nurturing." An unnamed friend of those years is quoted by Paul Routledge in his biography of Brown as recalling: "She

6608-456: The basic rate from 22% to 20%, increasing tax for 5 million people and, according to the calculations of the Institute for Fiscal Studies , leaving those earning between £5,000 and £18,000 as the biggest losers. To backbench cheers, Brown had described the measure in his last Budget thus: "Having put in place more focused ways of incentivising work and directly supporting children and pensioners at

6720-424: The basic rate from 23% to 20%; however, in all budgets but his final one, he increased the tax thresholds in line with inflation rather than with earnings, resulting in fiscal drag . Under Brown, corporation tax fell from a main rate of 33% to 28%, and from 24% to 19% for small businesses . In 1999, he introduced a lower income tax band of 10% . He abolished this 10% tax band in his last budget in 2007 to reduce

6832-408: The child tax credit, and an increase in the working tax credit. These increases were followed by another £1 billion of support for increases in the child tax credit. Under Brown, the tax code, the standard guide to tax, doubled in length to 17,000 pages. In October 1997, Brown announced that the Treasury would set five economic tests to determine whether the economic case had been made for

SECTION 60

#1733126574491

6944-480: The closing ceremony 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, but rather was made several weeks in advance and not intended as a stand on principle. In a speech in July 2007, Brown clarified his position regarding Britain's relationship with

7056-488: The conditions for prosperity and declining poverty levels. Following Labour's victory in the 1997 general election , its largest landslide general election victory in history, Prime Minister Tony Blair appointed Gordon Brown as Chancellor of the Exchequer. He had previously served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony Blair's Shadow Cabinet from 1994 to 1997. As Shadow Chancellor, Brown as Chancellor-in-waiting

7168-566: The dignity of the individual. I will continue to work, as Tony Blair did, very closely with the American administration." Brown and the Labour party had pledged to allow a referendum on the EU Reform Treaty . On 13 December 2007, Foreign Secretary David Miliband attended for the Prime Minister at the official signing ceremony in Lisbon . Brown's opponents on both sides of the House, and in

7280-556: The document to be too complex to be decided by referendum. During Brown's premiership, in October 2008, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) recommended to the then Home Secretary Jacqui Smith that cannabis remain classified as a Class C drug . Acting against the advice of the council, she chose to reclassify it as Class B . After Professor David Nutt , the chair of

7392-404: The evenings. Doctors were given the right of opting out of out-of-hours care in 2007, under a controversial pay deal, signed by then-Health Secretary John Reid , which awarded them a 22 per cent pay rise in 2006. On 5 June 2007, just three weeks before he was due to take the post of Prime Minister, Brown made a speech promising "British Jobs for British workers". Brown reiterated that promise at

7504-445: The exchequer was taken over by Alistair Darling . He proposed moving some traditional prime ministerial powers conferred by royal prerogative to the realm of Parliament, such as the power to declare war and approve appointments to senior positions. Brown wanted Parliament to gain the right to ratify treaties and have more oversight of the intelligence services. He also proposed moving some powers from Parliament to citizens, including

7616-500: The face of the challenge that emerged in September, as did Business Secretary John Hutton , Environment Secretary Hilary Benn , and Chief Whip Geoff Hoon . On 4 June 2009 James Purnell resigned from the Cabinet , and called for Brown's resignation as prime minister. On 6 January 2010, Patricia Hewitt and Geoff Hoon jointly called for a secret ballot on the future of Brown's leadership. The call received little support, and

7728-399: The final say on whether British troops were sent into action in future. He said he wanted to release more land and ease access to ownership with shared equity schemes. He backed a proposal to build new eco-towns , each housing between 10,000 and 20,000 homeowners – up to 100,000 new homes in total. Brown also said he wanted to have doctors' surgeries open at the weekends, and GPs on call in

7840-503: The following day Hoon said that it appeared to have failed and was "over". Brown later referred to the call for a secret ballot as a "form of silliness". Chancellorship of Gordon Brown Gordon Brown served as Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. His tenure was marked by major reform of Britain's monetary and fiscal policy architecture, transferring interest rate setting powers to

7952-419: The gold being widely criticised. As of August 2024 the gold prize is approximately £1,905 per ounce, which would value the reserves sold at £26.5 billion. As Chancellor, Brown argued against renationalising the railways , saying at the Labour conference in 2004 that it would cost £22 billion. During his time as Chancellor, Brown reportedly believed that it was appropriate to remove most, but not all, of

8064-410: The government, spoke of the need for discussion over Brown's position. While she did not state that she wanted Brown deposed, she implored the Labour Party to hold a leadership election. McDonagh was sacked from her role shortly afterward, on 12 September. She was supported in making clear her desire for a contest by Joan Ryan (who applied, as McDonagh had, for leadership nomination papers, and became

8176-590: The leadership ballot. It has long been rumoured a deal was struck between Blair and Brown at the former Granita restaurant in Islington , in which Blair promised to give Brown control of economic policy in return for Brown not standing against him in the leadership election. Whether this is true or not, the relationship between Blair and Brown was central to the fortunes of New Labour , and they mostly remained united in public, despite reported serious private rifts. As Shadow Chancellor , Brown as Chancellor-in-waiting

8288-446: The margin between employment and unemployment, and the IFS has estimated the reforms brought at least 50,000 single mothers into part-time work. The Centre for Policy Studies found the poorest fifth of households, which accounted for 6.8% of all taxes in 1996–7, accounted for 6.9% of all taxes paid in 2004–5. Meanwhile, their share of state benefit payouts dropped from 28.1% to 27.1% over

8400-408: The message across. Britain is a nation of tolerance and fairness." He later said the debate showed Britain wanted to be "defined by being a tolerant, fair and decent country." Brown delivered eleven budgets during his chancellorship; 1997 , 1998 , 1999 , 2000 , 2001 , 2002 , 2003 , 2004 , 2005 , 2006 , and 2007 . In his budget speech, which he described as a "people's budget", Brown told

8512-740: The organisation of each government department and automating their work patterns, in order to 'release' resources from the public sector budget that was then approximately £520bn. These gross savings of £21.5bn were reported to have been achieved by 2007 and agreed as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review in 2004 and subsequent budget. The effect of these objectives has been for all government departments to agree reductions on their long-term budgets, and then work out how to fulfill these challenging promises without crippling their existing obligations and service. Certain functions were identified as offering good opportunities for savings through

8624-444: The party launched the Not flash, just Gordon advertising campaign, which was seen largely as pre-election promotion of Brown as Prime Minister; however, Brown announced on 6 October that there would be no election any time soon – despite opinion polls showing that he was capable of winning an election should he call one. This proved to be a costly mistake, as during 2008 his party slid behind

8736-515: The party, said that Brown was the "solution", not the "problem"; Home Secretary 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 then denied that he was plotting a leadership bid, when on 30 July, an article written by him in The Guardian

8848-536: The press, suggested that ratification by Parliament was not enough and that a referendum should also be held. Labour's 2005 manifesto had pledged to give the British public a referendum on the original EU Constitution . Brown argued that the Treaty significantly differed from the Constitution, 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

8960-561: The previous twelve months from a peak of 7.5 per cent in June 1998 to 5.5 per cent by February 1999, whilst inflation during 1998 was recorded at 1.6 per cent (CPI) and 3.4 per cent (RPI). A new starting rate of income tax at 10 per cent was to be introduced in April 1999. Basic rate income tax was to be reduced from 23 per cent to 22 per cent in April 2000. The budget also abolished the married couple's allowance for under-65s and MIRAS mortgage interest relief from April 2000. Child tax credit

9072-400: The right to form "citizens' juries", easily petition Parliament for new laws, and rally outside Westminster. He asserted that the attorney general should not have the right to decide whether to prosecute in individual cases, such as in the loans for peerages scandal. There was speculation during September and early October 2007 about whether Brown would call a snap general election . Indeed,

9184-423: The role throughout Blair's premiership . One of Brown's first acts as chancellor was to grant the Bank of England the freedom to set the UK's interest rate, a decision that had previously been the responsibility of the chancellor. Brown was reappointed chancellor following Labour's landslide victory in the 2001 general election , and won a third term after the party also won the 2005 general election , though with

9296-485: The same period. According to the OECD UK taxation had increased from a 39.3% share of GDP in 1997 to 42.4% in 2006, going to a higher level than Germany. This increase has mainly been attributed to active government policy, and not simply to the growing economy. To have brought this about with only one explicit tax rise has led to accusations of Brown imposing stealth taxes . A commonly reported example resulted in 1997 from

9408-609: The same symptoms in his right eye. Brown underwent experimental surgery at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and his right eye was saved by a young eye surgeon, Hector Chawla. Brown graduated from Edinburgh with an undergraduate MA degree with First-Class Honours in history in 1972. He stayed on to obtain his PhD degree in history, which he gained ten years later in 1982, defending a thesis titled The Labour Party and Political Change in Scotland 1918–1929 . In his youth at

9520-472: 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. In the face of this speculation over Brown's future, his ministers backed him to lead the party, and Harriet Harman and David Miliband denied that they were preparing leadership bids. After Labour lost the Glasgow East by-election in July, Harman, the deputy leader of

9632-477: The tax paid) rather than to reinvest them into company growth (which would result in corporation tax being paid). The old system of corporation tax was widely viewed by economists as a constraint on British economic growth. Brown pointed to two main accomplishments: growth and employment. An OECD report shows UK economic growth averaged 2.7% between 1997 and 2006, higher than the Eurozone's 2.1%, though lower than in any other English-speaking country. UK unemployment

9744-410: The tax thresholds in line with inflation, rather than earnings, which rise more quickly during periods of economic growth. This results in fiscal drag in which more taxpayers are drawn into the upper rates (e.g. in 2000–01 there were 2,880,000 higher-rate taxpayers, whereas in 2005–06 there were 3,160,000). In 1997, Brown also introduced taxation of pension funds. Documents subsequently released under

9856-456: The two-year period of following the Conservative's spending plans was over, Brown's 2000 Spending Review outlined a major expansion of government spending , particularly on healthcare and education. In his April 2002 budget, Brown raised National Insurance to pay for increased health spending. Brown also changed tax policy in other ways, such as the introduction of Working Tax Credits . This

9968-489: The unpayable Third World debt . On 20 April 2006, in a speech to the United Nations Ambassadors, Brown outlined a " Green " view of global development. In October 2004, Blair announced he would not lead the party into a fourth general election, but would serve a full third term. Political comment over the relationship between Brown and Blair continued up to and beyond the 2005 election , which Labour won with

10080-496: The use of ICT, such as tax collection and benefits payments. Aggregating and reorganising other functions offers the promise of savings in procurement, buildings and facilities. The approach encourages departments to meet the government's desire for 'Joined-up Government' that smooths out the delivery of services, and supports initiatives such as the use of a Common Systems Strategy as suggested in Sir David Varney 's Report and

10192-399: The war on terror as key priorities. On 11 May 2007, after months of speculation, Brown formally announced his bid for the Labour leadership. He launched his campaign website the same day as formally announcing his bid for leadership, titled "Gordon Brown for Britain". On 16 May, Channel 4 News announced that Andrew MacKinlay had nominated Brown, giving him 308 nominations—enough to avoid

10304-591: The world's first Climate Change Act , and introduced the Equality Act 2010 . Despite poll rises just after Brown became prime minister, after he failed to call a snap election in 2007, his popularity fell and Labour's popularity declined with the Great Recession . Labour lost 91 seats in the 2010 general election , resulting in a hung parliament in which the Conservative Party won the most seats. After

10416-630: Was Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 1987 to 1989 and then Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry , before becoming Shadow Chancellor in 1992 following Labour's fourth consecutive defeat in the general election that year. Having led the Labour Movement Yes campaign, refusing to join the cross-party Yes for Scotland campaign, during the 1979 Scottish devolution referendum , while other senior Labour politicians – including Robin Cook , Tam Dalyell and Brian Wilson – campaigned for

10528-405: Was accepted by the University of Edinburgh to study history at the same early age of 16. During an end-of-term rugby union match at his old school, he received a kick to the head and experienced a retinal detachment . This left him blind in his left eye, despite treatment including several operations and weeks spent lying in a darkened room. Later at Edinburgh, while playing tennis, he noticed

10640-633: Was born at the Orchard Maternity Nursing Home in Giffnock , Renfrewshire , Scotland. His father was John Ebenezer Brown (1914–1998), a minister of the Church of Scotland and a strong influence on Brown. His mother was Jessie Elizabeth "Bunty" Brown ( née Souter; 1918–2004); she was the daughter of John Souter, a timber merchant. The family moved to Kirkcaldy – then the largest town in Fife , across

10752-451: Was central to the fortunes of New Labour , and they mostly remained united in public, despite reported serious private rifts. On taking office as Chancellor , Brown gave the Bank of England operational independence in monetary policy , and thus responsibility for setting interest rates . At the same time, he stripped the Bank of England of its regulatory powers, giving them to the newly created Financial Services Authority , whose board

10864-452: Was chancellor for a total of 12 years and 4 months in the period from 1852 to 1882 (although not continuously). Brown stated his chancellorship had seen the longest period of sustained economic growth in UK history , although part of this growth period started under the preceding Conservative government under John Major in 1993, and the details in Brown's growth figures have been challenged, as have his more general claims to have created

10976-549: Was elected to Parliament as a Labour MP at his second attempt, for Dunfermline East in the 1983 general election . His first Westminster office mate was a newly elected MP from the Sedgefield constituency, Tony Blair . Brown became an opposition spokesman on Trade and Industry in 1985. In 1986, he published a biography of the Independent Labour Party politician James Maxton , the subject of his doctoral thesis. Brown

11088-504: Was elected to the House of Commons at the 1983 general election as the MP for Dunfermline East. He was appointed to Neil Kinnock 's shadow cabinet in 1989 and was appointed Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer by John Smith in 1992. Following Labour's victory in the 1997 general election , Brown was appointed as Chancellor, becoming the longest-serving in modern history. Brown's time as chancellor

11200-597: Was employed as a lecturer in politics at Glasgow College of Technology . He also worked as a tutor for the Open University . In the 1979 general election , Brown stood for the Edinburgh South constituency, losing to the Conservative candidate, Michael Ancram . From 1980, he worked as a journalist at Scottish Television , later serving as current affairs editor until his election to Parliament in 1983. Brown

11312-461: Was facing criticism as prime minister for leading the UK into Afghanistan and Iraq , Brown was receiving credit for helping secure a strong economy for Britain. On 20 April 2006, in a speech to the United Nations Ambassadors, Brown outlined a " Green " view of global development: … far from being at odds with each other, our economic objectives and our environmental objectives now increasingly reinforce each other. … Environmental sustainability

11424-426: Was false," and that Brown's speech had been a "little Blitzkrieg in being an act of sudden unprovoked aggression". During a diplomatic visit to India in January 2007, Brown responded to questions concerning perceived racism and bullying against Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty on the UK reality TV programme Celebrity Big Brother saying, "There is a lot of support for Shilpa. It is pretty clear we are getting

11536-461: Was forecast that GDP would rise by 3.25% in 1997 and 2.5% in 1998, and consumer spending would increase by 4.5% in 1997 and 4% in 1998. Economic growth was forecast to be 2.5% for 1998, while inflation would rise by 2.5% in 1997, 2.75% in 1998, and 2.5% in 1999. Titled New Ambitions for Britain , and with "prudence as a purpose" as its narrative, Brown's 1998 budget sought to strike a careful balance between maintaining Labour's broad appeal among

11648-462: 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, responded to this by saying that he was confident Brown could lead Labour to victory in the next general election, and that his article was an attack against the fatalism in the party since the loss of Glasgow East . Miliband continued to show his support for Brown in

11760-491: Was later attacked as a "disastrous foray into international asset management" as he had sold at close to a 20-year low. The UK eventually sold about 395 tons of gold over 17 auctions from July 1999 to March 2002, at an average price of about US$ 275 per ounce, raising approximately US$ 3,500,000,000. By 2011, that quantity of gold would be worth over $ 19,000,000,000. He pressured the IMF to do the same, but it resisted. Brown believes it

11872-415: Was marked by major reform of Britain's monetary and fiscal policy architecture, transferring interest rate setting to the Bank of England , extension of powers of the Treasury to cover much domestic policy and transferring banking supervision to the Financial Services Authority . Brown presided over the longest period of economic growth in British history. He outlined five economic tests , which resisted

11984-572: Was mentioned by the press in the expenses crisis for claiming for the payment of his cleaner; however, no wrongdoing was found and the Commons Authority did not pursue Brown over the claim. Meanwhile, the Commons Fees Office stated that a double payment for a £153 plumbing repair bill was a mistake on their part and that Brown had repaid it in full. During his Labour leadership campaign Brown proposed some policy initiatives, which he called

12096-405: Was seen as a good choice by business and the middle class. It has long been rumoured a deal was struck between Blair and Brown at the former Granita restaurant in Islington , in which Blair promised to give Brown control of economic policy in return for Brown not standing against him in the 1994 Labour leadership election . Whether this is true or not, the relationship between Blair and Brown

12208-564: Was seen as a good choice by business and the middle class. During his tenure as Chancellor, the rate of inflation sometimes exceeded the 2% target; the Governor of the Bank of England , under the rules governing the Bank's role, wrote an explanatory letter to the Chancellor on each occasion inflation exceeded three per cent. Following a reorganisation of Westminster constituencies in Scotland in 2005, Brown became MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath at

12320-467: Was sweet and gentle and obviously cut out to make somebody a very good wife. She was bright, too, though not like him, but they seemed made for each other." In 1972, while still a student, Brown was elected Rector of the University of Edinburgh , the convener of the University Court . He served as Rector until 1975, and also edited the document The Red Paper on Scotland . From 1976 to 1980 Brown

12432-496: Was to be introduced and employer national insurance contributions cut by 0.5 per cent from April 2001. Stamp duties on property were to be raised. A Climate Change Levy was scheduled for the 2001–02 fiscal year. The millennium year witnessed Britain's major trading partners, particularly the US and several European economies, enter economic difficulties as part of the early 2000s recession . The dot-com bubble burst, though fallout in

12544-529: Was to be reduced from 23 per cent to 22 per cent from April 2000. The married couple's allowance for under-65s and MIRAS mortgage interest relief was to be abolished from April 2000. Fuel duty was to be frozen in real terms. Excise duties on cigarettes were to increase by 5 per cent above inflation. Stamp duties were to be raised. Tax credits and income support were scheduled to be increased. Large increases in NHS spending were forecast. The Climate Change Levy

#490509