BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FOR the first time since the end of World War Two, the United Kingdom (UK) has a coalition government that resulted in the resignation of the Labour Party’s leader and former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.
After five days of talks among the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat political parties, a deal was reached between the Conservative and the Liberal Democrat to form the new government and oust the Labour Party after some 13 years of rule.
The new PM is Conservative leader David Cameron and his Deputy is the Liberal Democrat’s leader Nick Clegg.
Basking in their victory, Cameron said his “historic” Conservative-led coalition government would be united and provide “strong and stable” leadership, while his Deputy said they would “take Britain in a historic new direction”.
The new coalition government’s agenda is to cut Britain’s deficit, support her troops, clean up politics and build a “stronger society”. However, as noted by BBC News, Clegg acknowledged “big risks” but pledged a “bold, reforming government”.
The Conservatives had won 306 seats in the general election held on Thursday, May 6, while the Labour Party tallied 258 and the Liberal Democrat 57. The Democratic Unionist Party won eight seats, the Scottish National Party got six and the Others shared 14. Although the Conservatives won the most seats, it was not enough to secure an overall Commons majority, which resulted in a hung Parliament.
According to BBC, after it became clear Labour’s talks with the Liberal Democrat had failed, Brown tendered his resignation, saying it had been a privilege to serve “this country I love”.
The media house further stated that Brown stepped down as Labour leader with immediate effect and deputy leader Harriet Harman would take over until a leadership contest is held. Former home secretary Alan Johnson has already ruled himself out and said he would support David Miliband, who he described as Labour’s “greatest talent”.
In an emotional farewell speech outside 10 Downing Street, BBC quoted Brown as saying that he “loved the job” and it had been “a privilege to serve”.
“Only those who have held the office of prime minister can understand the full weight of its responsibilities and its great capacity for good,” he said. “I have been privileged to learn much about the very best in human nature, and a fair amount, too, about its frailties, including my own.
“Above all, it was a privilege to serve and, yes, I love the job, not for its prestige, its titles and ceremony, which I do not love at all. No, I loved the job for its potential to make this country I love fairer, more tolerant, more green, more democratic, more prosperous and more just - truly a greater Britain.
“In the face of many...challenges up to and including the global financial meltdown, I have always tried to serve, to do my best in the interests of Britain, its values and its people.”
He also wished the new Prime Minister well “as he makes the important choices for the future”.
Meanwhile, Tunku Varadarajan, a national affairs correspondent and writer at large for The Daily Beast, said in an article headlined “What is Cameron up against” that the Labour Party should ready itself for introspective opposition.
He noted that Brown has resigned as leader, “so the party has rid itself of its greatest electoral liability”.
“But if Cameron governs decently and flexibly (and why should he not, given his need to take into account the views of his coalition partners?), and if the return to a more paternalistic conservatism can be achieved without sacrificing overly on fiscal rigor, Labour could well find itself shut out of power for more than one full parliamentary term.
“Deputy Prime Minister Clegg, now committed to a historic coalition, will not be able to pull out of government for anything other than irrefutable reasons. And Cameron hardly seems like the sort of chap to furnish those at the risk of bringing down his own, hard-earned government,” The Daily Beast quoted Varadarajan as saying.
He also opined that Gordon Brown was like a dark cloud – rather like having a joyless loan officer run the country.
“He was unelected, unloved, unsuccessful, tribal, opportunistic and calculating. Whatever other skills he might have had, he never, ever imparted a sense of optimism in the way that Tony Blair did (somehow). For many Brits, Brown never recovered from using the phrase ‘post neo-classical endogenous growth theory’. It was cerebral, no doubt, but utterly meaningless for the people he was supposed to be leading. Can you imagine Blair, or even Obama, saying something quite so indigestible (as distinct, of course, from unpalatable)?”
