chief
Prime VIP
(Reuters) - Gordon Brown resigned as prime minister of Britain on Tuesday and said Conservative leader David Cameron would take over, ending 13 years of rule by the center-left Labour Party.
The center-right Conservatives won most seats in a parliamentary election last week but fell short of a majority. Labour came second and the Liberal Democrats a distant third.
Both the Conservatives and Labour tried to win Lib Dem support to form the next government during five days of intense negotiations, but it became clear on Tuesday afternoon that Labour had lost and Brown would have to resign.
"I have informed the Queen's private secretary that it's my intention to tender my resignation to the Queen," Brown told reporters outside his Downing Street office, flanked by his wife Sarah.
"In the event that the Queen accepts I shall advise her to invite the leader of the opposition (Cameron) to seek to form a government. I wish the next prime minister well as he makes the important choices for the future," an emotional Brown said.
The sequence of events was in accordance with British constitutional convention. Just after his statement, Brown, his wife and their two children briefly posed for photographers before leaving Downing Street, the official prime ministerial residence.
Brown's statement made clear that the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats had secured some sort of power-sharing arrangement, but the exact details were not yet known.
Senior Conservative William Hague, who has been negotiating with the Lib Dems, told reporters minutes after Brown's statement that he and his team now had recommendations to propose to party colleagues.
Earlier, Britain's sterling currency jumped 1 percent against the dollar and government bonds rallied on reports that a Conservative/Lib Dem deal was imminent.
Markets want a quick resolution to the uncertainty and favor a Conservative-led government because they believe it would move faster and harder to cut Britain's record budget deficit.
Britain is emerging from its worst recession since World War Two and analysts believe only a strong and stable government can tackle the deficit aggressively and protect Britain's triple-A credit rating.
The Lib Dems had turned to the Conservatives first, on the basis that they had won most votes and most seats in last Thursday's election. But Brown threw a spanner in the works on Monday when he said he would step aside in coming months.
The move was aimed at tempting the Lib Dems away from the Conservatives and into an alliance with Labour. The Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg had made it clear during the campaign he did not wish to prop up the unpopular Brown.
The center-right Conservatives won most seats in a parliamentary election last week but fell short of a majority. Labour came second and the Liberal Democrats a distant third.
Both the Conservatives and Labour tried to win Lib Dem support to form the next government during five days of intense negotiations, but it became clear on Tuesday afternoon that Labour had lost and Brown would have to resign.
"I have informed the Queen's private secretary that it's my intention to tender my resignation to the Queen," Brown told reporters outside his Downing Street office, flanked by his wife Sarah.
"In the event that the Queen accepts I shall advise her to invite the leader of the opposition (Cameron) to seek to form a government. I wish the next prime minister well as he makes the important choices for the future," an emotional Brown said.
The sequence of events was in accordance with British constitutional convention. Just after his statement, Brown, his wife and their two children briefly posed for photographers before leaving Downing Street, the official prime ministerial residence.
Brown's statement made clear that the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats had secured some sort of power-sharing arrangement, but the exact details were not yet known.
Senior Conservative William Hague, who has been negotiating with the Lib Dems, told reporters minutes after Brown's statement that he and his team now had recommendations to propose to party colleagues.
Earlier, Britain's sterling currency jumped 1 percent against the dollar and government bonds rallied on reports that a Conservative/Lib Dem deal was imminent.
Markets want a quick resolution to the uncertainty and favor a Conservative-led government because they believe it would move faster and harder to cut Britain's record budget deficit.
Britain is emerging from its worst recession since World War Two and analysts believe only a strong and stable government can tackle the deficit aggressively and protect Britain's triple-A credit rating.
The Lib Dems had turned to the Conservatives first, on the basis that they had won most votes and most seats in last Thursday's election. But Brown threw a spanner in the works on Monday when he said he would step aside in coming months.
The move was aimed at tempting the Lib Dems away from the Conservatives and into an alliance with Labour. The Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg had made it clear during the campaign he did not wish to prop up the unpopular Brown.
