Key figures: Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, Alistair Darling, David Cameron
Summary
On June 27, 2007, Gordon Brown was inaugurated as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, succeeding Tony Blair after a decade as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Brown was formally invited to form a government by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace and entered 10 Downing Street the same afternoon. His appointment marked the first mid-Parliament change of Prime Minister since John Major succeeded Margaret Thatcher in 1990 — a transition occurring without a general election. Brown had served as Chancellor since May 1997, making his tenure of approximately 10 years and 56 days the longest unbroken occupancy of that office in modern British history.
Background: Brown’s Path to Number 10
Gordon Brown (born February 20, 1951) had been the dominant domestic political figure of the Blair era. A graduate of the University of Edinburgh, where he earned a PhD in history, he entered Parliament in 1983 as MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath. His political alliance with Tony Blair was cemented at the so-called “Granita Pact” dinner of May 1994, reportedly held at the Granita restaurant in Islington, where Blair and Brown agreed that Blair would stand for the Labour leadership while Brown — who would have been a formidable rival — stepped aside, with an understanding that Brown would eventually succeed him.
As Chancellor (1997–2007), Brown oversaw what became known as the longest UK economic expansion in recorded history — 63 consecutive quarters of GDP growth from 1992 through 2008. He introduced the independence of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee in May 1997, delegating interest-rate setting authority within days of taking office — a landmark structural reform credited with anchoring inflation expectations.
The Handover
Tony Blair announced his intention to resign as Prime Minister on May 10, 2007, giving approximately seven weeks’ notice. He formally resigned on June 27, 2007, and left Downing Street after addressing his constituency in Sedgefield. Brown was elected Labour leader unopposed on June 24, 2007, after no rival candidate accumulated enough nominations to force a contest — the first uncontested Labour leadership succession since George Lansbury in 1931. He took office at the age of 56.
Brown’s initial Cabinet reshuffle was notable for breadth: he appointed Alistair Darling as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jacqui Smith as the first female Home Secretary, and David Miliband as Foreign Secretary. He also brought several figures from outside traditional Labour networks into government roles, framing this as a “Government of all the Talents.”
Early Tenure and Immediate Challenges
Brown’s first months were marked by a series of crises that tested — and initially boosted — his public standing:
- June 29–30, 2007: Within 48 hours of taking office, Brown’s government responded to a series of terror attacks — a car bomb discovered in London’s West End and a vehicle driven into Glasgow Airport’s terminal. Brown’s calm response and his Home Secretary’s handling were seen as competent.
- July–August 2007: England faced severe flooding, affecting approximately 350,000 homes and prompting emergency disaster-relief measures. Brown was praised for his management of the response.
- September 2007: The run on Northern Rock bank — the first run on a British bank since the Overend, Gurney and Company collapse of 1866 — marked the beginning of the financial crisis confronting Brown’s government. Northern Rock was nationalised in February 2008.
Brown also inherited the ongoing UK military commitment in Iraq (approximately 5,500 troops at the time of his appointment) and Afghanistan, and announced phased reductions in Iraq deployments.
Political Context
Brown inherited a Labour Party that had won three consecutive general elections (1997, 2001, 2005) but faced rising pressure from the Conservative Party, now led by David Cameron. Cameron had modernized the Tory brand since 2005, and opinion polls through 2007 showed Labour and the Conservatives neck-and-neck. Brown’s approval ratings briefly rose on his appointment — a phenomenon known as the “Brown bounce” — with YouGov polls in July 2007 giving Labour a 9-point lead. By autumn 2007, however, speculation about a snap general election that Brown ultimately chose not to call, combined with the Northern Rock crisis, badly damaged his standing. His approval ratings never fully recovered.
Legacy
Brown served as Prime Minister until May 11, 2010, following Labour’s defeat in the May 6, 2010 general election. He oversaw the UK government’s response to the 2008 global financial crisis, including the October 2008 bank recapitalisation package (worth approximately £500 billion in guarantees and direct capital injections) that was credited internationally as a template for global crisis response. He resigned as Labour leader on May 11, 2010, and left Parliament at the 2015 general election.