Gordon brown prime minister biography

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Despite apologising it caused a lot of damage in the election. The town had a long tradition of Labour support, and given his growing interest in politics, it seemed a natural choice. The next 10 years saw a real decade of turbulence in the Labour Party. He helped launch the petition. He started at Edinburgh University aged 16, becoming the youngest fresher there since the war.

It was at university that he began to have problems with his sight and doctors diagnosed him with a detached retina, which was caused by an injury he received in his final game for his school rugby team.

“I am Malala” after the Pakistani schoolgirl, Malala, was shot in the head by the Taliban.

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan. (Much to the probable annoyance of Gordon Brown, who was kept waiting on tenterhooks) Finally, after intense media speculation, Tony Blair did announce his departure and in the summer of 2007, Gordon Brown was finally able to assume leadership of the Labour Party, becoming the Prime Minister of the UK.

No candidate could command sufficient support to force an internal election.

Gordon Brown and Iraq.

Gordon Brown never opposed the invasion of Iraq.

His passion for global justice was shown in his negotiation to cancel the debts of the world’s poorest nations and the tripling of the development budget.

It was during his time as Chancellor that he proposed to Sarah Macaulay and 7 months later they were married at their home in North Queensferry.

Gordon Brown became Prime Minister on 27 June 2007 after Tony Blair left office.

Initially, Tony Blair expressed much reluctance to announce a date for his departure. They were the rising stars of the Labour Party and together they made a pact that they would not stand against each other for leadership, should a situation arose. Many feel he was following the lead of Tony Blair and was not interested in trying to shape opinion. Following the summit, he pledged to lead an international campaign to turn the agreements reached at Copenhagen into a legally binding treaty.

During his time in office, he worked with his Irish counterpart Brian Cowen to negotiate the devolution of policing and justice powers in Northern Ireland.

Brown's tenure is widely associated with the government's economic successes. Both men shared a common belief in a non-dogmatic social democratic agenda. Under his stewardship, the economy experienced a long period of economic expansion and inflation was brought under control. After Labour unexpectedly lost another election in 1992 and John Smith’s untimely death, Tony Blair seized his chance to become the leader of the party.

When the Iraq invasion and occupation, created adverse publicity, it was generally Tony Blair who was given the blame and disapproval of those who opposed the war and what it had done.

Gordon Brown and George Bush

Tony Blair was heavily criticised for his very close and public support for Tony Blair. For example, George Bush never took seriously Tony Blair’s commitment to finding a roadmap for peace in the Middle East.

However, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, he wielded tremendous influence over the economy of the UK.

Gordon Brown as Chancellor 1997-2007

Gordon Brown could claim to be one of the UK’s most successful post-war chancellors. In one unfortunate incident on the campaign trail, he called a woman, Gillian Duffy, a ‘bigot’ – not realising his comments were being recorded.

Both wanted to maintain the Labour party as the part of the poor and underprivileged, but also maintain its electoral potential.

Gordon Brown and Tony Blair

Gordon Brown also developed a close friendship with Tony Blair. Although no party won an outright majority, the Conservatives formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

From 1983 to 1984, he served as the Chairman of the Labour Party in Scotland Council. He passed his O levels and then A levels before going to Edinburgh University at the very young age of 15.