Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown, born in 1951, British Labour Party politician, chancellor of the exchequer from 1997 to 2007, and Labour Party leader and prime minister of the United Kingdom (2007-). Brown succeeded Tony Blair as prime minister and Labour Party leader in June 2007. Brown is known for his devotion to his job, his long working hours, his gloomy demeanor, and his certainty in his own judgment. Under his management as chancellor, Britain’s economy enjoyed solid economic growth.

James Gordon Brown was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of a Church of Scotland minister. He studied history at the University of Edinburgh, where he earned a master’s degree and a doctorate and was rector of the university from 1972 to 1975. After leaving the university he became a lecturer at Glasgow College of Technology (1976-1980) and a journalist for Scottish Television (1980-1983).

In 1983 Brown was elected a Labour Party member of Parliament (MP), representing Dunfermline East in Scotland. He has retained his seat in Parliament since then, although since redistricting he has represented Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath. In 1983 and 1984 he was chair of the Scottish Labour Party. During the conservative government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Brown served as opposition chief secretary to the treasury from 1987 to 1989 and as opposition secretary of state for trade and industry from 1989 to 1992. In 1992 he was appointed to the opposition’s post of chancellor of the exchequer.

Brown decided not to run against Blair in 1994 for leadership of the Labour Party. His decision was admired within the party for the personal sacrifice it involved, and it was widely understood that Blair would one day step aside for Brown. Following the landslide Labour victory in 1997, Blair became prime minister and Brown became chancellor of the exchequer. The two formed a partnership in which Brown, the frugal head of the treasury, was known as the “iron chancellor.” Brown’s economic expertise compensated for Labour’s traditional reputation for poor financial management.

Brown exercised tight economic control in the early stages of the Labour government. His first act as chancellor was to transfer responsibility for setting interest rates from the government to the Bank of England. He introduced a “welfare-to-work” scheme, funded by a one-time tax on privatized utilities, and he soon cut the base rates for personal taxes. But he later relaxed his stringent policies on taxation and public spending, allowing taxes to rise and presenting budgets that provided large increases in spending on health and education. After fears that such spending would increase inflation, Brown pledged to reduce the national debt with a windfall from the auction of licenses for mobile telephone networks. Later budgets seemed to confirm his reputation for prudence while advocating social policies such as extended maternity leave, the introduction of paternity leave, and boosts in spending on health and education.

Relations between Brown and Blair became testy at times, as Brown showed reluctance to loosen the purse strings and as Blair ran for a third term in office, showing little interest in turning over the Labour Party reins to Brown. Brown played a central role in Labour’s reelection, in large part because during his time as chancellor of the exchequer economic growth had been sustained, inflation kept low, and public spending increased. Blair stated it would be the last time he would run as party leader, and Brown was widely assumed to be his successor. By the time Blair announced he would step down in 2007 as leader of the Labour Party and prime minister, no rival candidate had emerged, and Brown succeeded to both positions unopposed.