Premiership of Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown's term as the prime minister of the United Kingdom began on 27 June 2007 when he accepted an invitation of Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, replacing Tony Blair, and ended on 11 May 2010 upon his resignation. While serving as prime minister, Brown also served as the first lord of the treasury, the minister for the civil service, and the leader of the Labour Party. He and Blair both extensively used the New Labour branding while in office, which was presented as the brand of a newly reformed party that had altered Clause IV and endorsed market economics, though Brown's style of government differed from that of his predecessor. Brown is the most recent Labour politician as well as the most recent Scottish politician to hold the office of prime minister. Brown rescinded some of the policies which had been introduced or were planned by Blair's administration. He remained committed to close ties with the United States and to the war in Iraq, although he established an inquiry into the reasons for Britain's participation in the conflict. He proposed a "government of all the talents" which would involve co-opting leading personalities from industry and professional occupations into government positions. Brown also appointed Jacqui Smith as the UK's first female home secretary, while Brown's former position as chancellor of the exchequer was taken over by Alistair Darling. Brown's government introduced monetary and fiscal policies to help keep the banks afloat during the financial crisis in 2008, and as a result the United Kingdom's national debt increased dramatically. The Government took majority shareholdings in Northern Rock and Royal Bank of Scotland, both of which experienced financial difficulties. Large amounts of money were injected into several other banks, including newly merged HBOS-Lloyds TSB, which received £17 billion. Domestic policies focusing on education, employment and health were introduced by the administration.