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Gordon Brown

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:''This article is about the United Kingdom British Chancellor of the Exchequer. For the rugby union player of the same name, see Gordon Brown (rugby player).'' {{Infobox PM |name=The Right Honourable Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown |image =Gordon Brown.jpg |country-de=the Exchequer |term=May 2, 1997–present |before=Kenneth Clarke |after=Incumbent |date_birth = February 20, 1951 |place_birth = Glasgow, Scotland |party=Labour Party (UK) Labour Party }} The Right Honourable Ph.D Dr '''James Gordon Brown,''' Doctor of Philosophy Ph.D (born 20 February 1951) is Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom and a Scotland Scottish Labour Party (UK) Labour Party politician. He was Member of Parliament MP for Dunfermline East (UK Parliament constituency) Dunfermline East from United Kingdom general election, 1983 1983 - United Kingdom general election, 2005 2005, then Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (UK Parliament constituency) Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath from United Kingdom general election, 2005 2005 following a reorganisation of parliamentary constituencies in Scotland. Brown has headed HM Treasury since May 1997, making him the longest continuously serving Chancellor since Nicholas Vansittart, 1st Baron Bexley Nicholas Vansittart (1812-1823). He is widely tipped to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Prime Minister after the retirement of Tony Blair.

Early and private life
His father, John, was a Church of Scotland Minister (religion) minister. While at school he suffered a detached retina in a rugby union rugby accident, so his left eye is now made of glass. Brown read History at the University of Edinburgh, graduating with First Class Honours. Brown would stay at Edinburgh to complete his PhD Doctorate, titled 'The Labour Party and Political Change in Scotland 1918-29'. According to biographer Tom Bower, Brown originally intended his thesis to cover the development of Labour from the seventeenth century onwards, but evolved to more modestly describe "Labour's struggle to establish itself as the alternative to the Conservatives [in the early part of the 20th century]". Even before entering Parliament of the United Kingdom Parliament, Brown had achieved some prominence: he was elected Rector[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4683799.stm] of the University of Edinburgh and Chairman of the University Court while still a student, and edited "The Red Paper on Scotland"[http://www.redpaper.net/about.htm]. Brown lectured at that university and then at Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow College of Technology before working as a journalist at Scottish Television. In the 1979 general election, Brown fought the Edinburgh South constituency, but lost to the Conservative candidate, Michael Ancram. In 1986, he published a biography of the Independent Labour Party politician James Maxton - the subject of his PhD thesis. Brown married Sarah Macaulay at his home in North Queensferry, Fife, on 3 August 2000 after a four-year courtship. Mrs. Brown is a public relations executive and was, until 2001, Chief Executive of Hobsbawm Macaulay, the consultancy firm she owned with Julia Hobsbawm. On 28 December 2001, a daughter, Jennifer Jane, was born prematurely; she died on 8 January 2002. Their second child, a son, John, was born on 17 October 2003. In January 2006 it was announced that they were expecting a third child in July. Brown is a Raith Rovers F.C. supporter - a team he has supported since boyhood - and he is a member of the consortium which led a community buy out of the club in December 2005. Brown's brothers are John Brown (Glasgow City Council) John Brown, Head of Public Relations, Glasgow City Council and Andrew Brown, a PR consultant for British utility company EDF Energy.

Early Parliamentary career
He was elected to Parliament as a Labour MP for Dunfermline East (UK Parliament constituency) Dunfermline East in 1983, becoming opposition spokesman on Trade and Industry in 1985, then Shadow Cabinet Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, before becoming Shadow Chancellor in 1992. After the sudden death of John Smith (UK politician) John Smith, Brown was tipped as a potential party leader, but he stepped aside and allowed Tony Blair to become leader. It has long been rumoured that a deal was struck between the two men at the Granita (restaurant) Granita restaurant in Islington, that Blair promised to give Brown complete control of economic policy in return for Brown not standing against him in the election, and that he would retire at some future date, allowing Brown to become Prime Minister. Whether this is true or not, the relationship between Blair and Brown has been central to the fortunes of "Labour Party (UK)#New Labour New Labour", and they have by and large remained united in public despite reported rifts. As Shadow Chancellor, Brown worked hard to establish an image of fiscal competence, and to reassure business and the middle class that Labour could be trusted to run the economy without fuelling inflation (economics) inflation. "Prudence" became Brown's catchphrase in his early years, and he cultivated a dour and even miserly air, though he is apparently known to friends and constituents as a good-humoured and even romantic man. He also committed Labour to following the Conservatives' spending plans for the first two years after taking power; his 2000 Spending Review foreshadowed a large expansion of government spending.

Chancellor of the Exchequer
Image:Gordonbrown.jpg thumb|300px|Gordon Brown speaking at the [[Urban Summit in 2002]] On taking office as Chancellor, Brown sprung a surprise by giving the Bank of England operational independence in the conduct of monetary policy, and thus responsibility for setting interest rates - a policy devised by Ed Balls, his long-time chief economic adviser and now an MP. While he has adhered to Labour's election pledge to make no increases to the standard or higher rates of income tax, he has raised taxes in other areas like consumption. In his April 2002 budget, he raised national insurance to pay for health spending, a tax on income separate from personal income tax. His other crackdowns on 'tax loopholes' has raised the UK tax burden from 39.3% of GDP in 1997 to 42.4% in 2006, according to the OECD, overtaking Germany. [http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/5/51/2483816.xls]. To have achieved this result with only one explicit tax rise has fuelled accusations of his imposing stealth taxes. Brown points to two accomplishments: growth and employment. An OECD report shows[http://www.oecd.org/document/61/0,2340,en_2649_201185_2483901_1_1_1_1,00.html] that, between 1997 and 2006, UK economic growth has averaged 2.7% - higher than the Eurozone's 2.1% but lower than any English-speaking country. UK unemployment is 5.1%, down from 7% in 1997 and lower than the Eurozone's 8.1%. In 2001 Brown sold 60% of the UK's gold reserves. The decision was latterly criticised as the price later picked up from what then 20-year lows meaning Brown could have raised £2 billion extra for the sale had he waited. [http://business.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=2313142005]. [http://www.gata.org/uk_gold_sale_fury.html]. In October 1997, he took control of the United Kingdom's membership of the European single currency issue by announcing the Treasury would set five economic tests [http://www.guardian.co.uk/EMU/Story/0,2763,375315,00.html] to ascertain whether the economic case had been made. He declared in June 2003 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2975560.stm] they had not been met. Brown's lengthy period as Chancellor of the Exchequer has set several records. He is the longest-serving Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer (ahead of Denis Healey, who was Chancellor for 5 years and 2 months from 5 March 1974 to 4 May 1979). On 15 June 2004, he became the longest continuous serving Chancellor of the Exchequer since the Reform Act 1832, passing the figure of 7 years and 43 days set by David Lloyd George (1908–1915). However, William Gladstone was Chancellor for a total of 12 years and 4 months in the period from 1852 to 1882 (although not continuously). As he has commented upon on several occasions, his Chancellorship has overseen the longest period of sustained economic growth in the UK which started in 1993 on the United Kingdom's exit from the Exchange Rate Mechanism. In October 2004 Tony Blair announced he would not lead the party into a fourth general election, but would serve out a full third term. Brown has for some time promoted the cause of acting to reduce Third World debt and following the Asian Tsunami Disaster this has positioned Brown well inside the curve of popular opinion in the UK. Political controversy over the relationship between Brown and Blair in advance of the prospective United Kingdom general election, 2005 UK general election, 2005 continued up to that election, when Blair won a reduced majority, a reduced vote share for the Labour Party, and then confirmed that he would not fight the next general election. The two appear for the time being to have put their differences behind them. The Labour Party even produced an election broadcast, showing the two debating policy and making jokes about their 'troubled' relationship. Continued reports of disagreements still appear in the British media, though.

Prospects of succeeding Blair
In 2005 Brown was listed in Time Magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world: Blair did not feature. This could be attributed to the widespread expectation that Brown has no serious rivals as the next Prime Minister. He is very pro-American and holidayed in Cape Cod until the birth of his son. Particularly impressed with American patriotism he has tried to make the United Kingdom more patriotic through what he called 'Britishness', recently saying that Remembrance Day should become 'British Day' to take the flag back from the far-right and bring about a more patriotic atmosphere in the United Kingdom. He has also put forward proposals for a Veterans Day, thought to be similar to that of the American Federal government of the United States federal holiday, although nothing has been decided upon yet. These proposals and recent appearances are widely interpreted as preparation for when Gordon Brown becomes Prime Minister and so make him appear to be of more 'leadership material' - and to replace his Scottish identity with a British one in the public mind. Blair, however, has made no indication that he is preparing to step down before the end of his third term. Brown remains the only candidate spoken of seriously in Westminster. But doubts grow, and Labour defeat in Dunfermline and West Fife by-election, 2006 Dunfermline and West Fife in the 2006 by-election, after a campaign largely led by Brown (and covering the constituency in which he lives) questioned the Chancellor's ability to win elections without Blair charming the middle classes.

Notes
#[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4683799.stm Gordon Brown as Rector at Edinburgh University] #[http://newswww.bbc.net.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4502252.stm BBC News] #[http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/03/25/hot_air_and_global_warming/ Boston Globe - Brown's views on global warming] #[http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/vote2005/html/712.stm 2005 election results page for Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath] #[http://www.alba.org.uk/dunfermline/dunfermline333.html Labour lose in Brown's home constituency?]

Bibliography

Works
*Brown, Gordon (1989). ''Where There's Greed: Margaret Thatcher and the Betrayal of Britain's Future.'' Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 1851582282. *Brown, Gordon (ed.); Cook, Robin (ed.) (1987). ''Scotland: The Real Divide - Poverty and Deprivation in Scotland.'' Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 0906391180. *Brown, Gordon (1986). ''Maxton: A Biography.'' Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 1851580425.

Biographies
*Peston, Robert (2005). ''Brown's Britain: How Gordon Runs the Show.'' Short Books. ISBN 1904095674. *Bower, Tom (2003). ''Gordon Brown.'' HarperCollins. ISBN 000717540X. *Keegan, William (2003). ''The Prudence of Mr Gordon Brown.'' John Wiley. ISBN 0470846976. *James Naughtie Naughtie, James (2001). ''The Rivals: The Intimate Story of a Political Marriage.'' Fourth Estate. ISBN 1841154733. *Routledge, Paul (1998). ''Gordon Brown: The Biography.'' Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0684819546.

Others
*Rawnsley, Andrew (2001). ''Servants of the people: The inside story of New Labour.'' Penguin Books. ISBN 0140278508.

See also
* Blair Brown Deal * 54th United Kingdom general election 54th UK general election * United Kingdom general election, 2005 UK general election, 2005 * United Kingdom general election, 2001 UK general election, 2001 * United Kingdom general election, 1997 UK general election, 1997 * United Kingdom general election, 1992 UK general election, 1992 * United Kingdom general election, 1987 UK general election, 1987 * United Kingdom general election, 1983 UK general election, 1983

External links

- HM Treasury - Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer
- 10 Downing Street - Chancellor of the Exchequer, The Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Gordon Brown MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Gordon Brown
- BBC News - Tour diary: Gordon Brown in Africa January 2005 trip about his 'Marshall plan for Africa'
- Open Directory Project - ''Gordon Brown'' directory category {{start box}} {{succession box | before=''(none: constituency created)'' | title=Dunfermline East (UK Parliament constituency) Member of Parliament for Dunfermline East | years=1983–2005 | after=''(none: constituency abolished)''}} {{Incumbent succession box| before=''(none: constituency created)'' | title=Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (UK Parliament constituency) Member of Parliament for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath | start=2005 | after=''Incumbent''}} {{Incumbent succession box | before=Kenneth Clarke | title=Chancellor of the Exchequer | start=1997}} {{end box}} {{G8-Finance}} {{Chancellor of the Exchequer}} Category:1951 births Brown, Gordon Category:Glaswegians Brown, Gordon Category:Chancellors of the Exchequer Brown, Gordon Category:Members of the Privy Council Brown, Gordon Category:British MPs Brown, Gordon Category:UK Labour Party politicians Brown, Gordon Category:Scottish politicians Brown, Gordon Category:Scottish journalists Brown, Gordon Category:University of Edinburgh alumni Brown, Gordon Category:Living people Brown, Gordon Category:People with an ocular prosthetic Brown, Gordon de:Gordon Brown es:Gordon Brown eo:Gordon Brown fr:Gordon Brown it:Gordon Brown ja:ゴードン・ブラウン sv:Gordon Brown zh:戈登·布朗

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