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The Right Honourable James Gordon Brown (born February 20, 1951) is a British Labour Party politician who has been Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom since 1997 and MP for Dunfermline East since 1983.
Born in Glasgow, he was educated at Kirkcaldy High School . After a rugby accident as a boy Brown became blind in one eye. Brown studied history at the University of Edinburgh where he gained First Class Honours and then a Doctorate. Even before entering Parliament Brown had achieved some renown, being elected RectorThe word rector ("ruler," from the Latin regere has a number of different meanings. The Rector is the highest academic official of a university in many countries. At some universities they have the title of rector magnificus. In Scotland, the position of of Edinburgh University and Chairman of the University Court whilst still a student there, and editing The Red Paper on Scotland . Mr Brown lectured at that university and then Caledonian University before working as a journalist at Scottish TV. In 1986 he wrote a biographyBiography a genre of literature and other forms of media like film, based on the written accounts of individual lives. While a biography may focus on a subject of fiction or non-fiction, the term is usually in reference to non-fiction. As opposed to a pro of the Independent Labour PartyThe Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a former political party in the United Kingdom. The party was formed in 1893 making it one of the earliest democratic socialist political parties operating in the United Kingdom. Its founder chairman was James Keir H politician James MaxtonJames Maxton was a Scottish politician. Born in the burgh of Pollokshaws (now part of the city of Glasgow) in 1885, he was the son of two schoolteachers, the profession he would later enter himself. He is viewed as one of the leading figures of the Red Cl.
He was elected to Parliament in 1983, becoming opposition spokesman on Trade and Industry in 1985, then Shadow Chief Secretary to the TreasuryThe Chief Secretary to the Treasury is a junior position in the British Cabinet. It was created in 1961, to share the burden of representing the treasury with the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The position's responsibilities include negotiating with depart and Shadow Trade and Industry Secretary before becoming Shadow Chancellor in 1992.
After the sudden death of John SmithThis is about the former leader of the Labour Party. For the Welsh MP, see John Smith (Welsh politician); for the Conservative MP, see John Smith (Conservative politician). John Smith ( September 13, 1938 May 12, 1994) was a British politician who served, Brown was tipped as a potential party leader, but he stepped aside and allowed Tony BlairThe Right Honourable Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair (born 6 May 1953) has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 1997, when he brought the Labour Party into power after 18 consecutive years of Conservative government. After becoming the to become leader. It has long been rumoured that a deal was struck between the two men at the Granita restaurant in Islington, and that Blair promised to 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 "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. "Prudence" became Brown's catchphrase, and he cultivated a dour and even miserly air, though he is apparently known to friends and constituents as a good-humoured and romantic man. He also committed Labour to following the Conservatives' spending plans for the first two years after taking power.
On taking office as Chancellor, Brown sprung a surprise by giving the Bank of England responsibility for setting its base rate of interest, and thus control over monetary policy. On fiscal matters, he is regarded as having an unusually strong influence over the details of the government's spending plans. While he has adhered to Labour's election pledge to make no increases to the standard or higher rates of income tax, the conjunction of his decisions to align the national insurance threshold with the income tax threshold and then increase the national insurance rate without regard to the upper earnings limit by one percentage point has had substantially the same effect except for investment income and pensions in payment. This action, together with the increase in the tax share of national income on a cyclically adjusted basis, accounts for the recurrent accusations that Brown has faced of imposing "stealth taxes".
He is widely viewed as less enthusiastically pro- euro than most in the Blair administration, and apparent rifts have occurred between him and more europhile members of Cabinet (such as Peter Hain and Jack Straw).
On 28 December 2001, a daughter Jennifer Jane was born prematurely to Brown and his wife Sarah. Jennifer Jane died 8 January 2002. Their second child, a son John, was born on 17 October 2003. Sarah Brown (formerly Sarah Macaulay) is a public relations executive and until 2001 was Chief Executive of Hobsbawm Macaulay, the consultancy she owned with Julia Hobsbawm.
Gordon Brown is the longest-serving Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer, ahead of Denis Healey, who was Chancellor for 5 years and 2 months ( March 5 1974 to May 4 1979). On 15 June 2004, Gordon Brown became the longest continuous serving Chancellor of the Exchequer since the Reform Act of 1832, passing the figure of seven 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).
In May 2004, opinion polling suggested that Labour would only win a parliamentary majority at the next general election if Gordon Brown were leader instead of Tony Blair. [1] John Prescott claimed "the tectonic plates are shifting", but in October 2004 Tony Blair announced his intention to serve out a full third term.
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