Gordon Brown has done more than a good job. He guided not only the UK but also large parts of the economic world at a time when financial structures of our society were undermined by unscrupulous bankers and money dealers. He was a man who genuinely believed he could make things better for everyone through justice, fairness and good judgement. Sadly he was unable to convince enough of the British electorate that he should remain in office and at the election he failed to secure enough seats to stay at No. 10.
So tonight Gordon went to Buckingham Palace and offered The Queen his resignation, followed with almost indecent haste by David Cameron, summoned to take his place.
We don’t yet know if David Cameron can command a working majority to form a government. The Liberal Democrats have yet to ratify the deal that their leaders are believed to have brokered with the Conservatives. We will have to wait and see if Mr Cameron, the new Prime Minister, can keep the first promise he has just made to The Queen.
I’m not comfortable with the future but I am comfortable about the past 13 years of Labour rule. There have been mistakes – some significant ones – but there has also been progress. Many of our public services are in much better shape than they were when Tony Blair first stepped into Downing Street in 1997. This seems like a good place to thank Tony and Gordon for enduring the years of pressure in leadership as they stood on the bridge of the good ship UK.
“What, I wonder, do Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and all the other professional atheists who make good money out of knocking people’s religious faith make of the behaviour of Margaret Mizen in the immediate aftermath of her son Jimmy’s murder?”