Prime Minister Gordon Brown Is Resigning
Labor took heavy losses in the U.K. election results and Gordon Brown, incumbent Prime Minister, has announced he will resign as head of the Labor Party. Currently, the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties are working on a coalition government. Labor is making a counteroffer to the Liberal Democrats, and it appears it will be months until a British Government is clearly established. Spending deficits and debt relief are part of the issues facing the new government, and austerity measures are expected to be part of the projects for the new government when it finally forms.
Gordon Brown gives up his post as a sacrifice
The move of Gordon Brown to resign from being Prime Minister could be taken as a sacrificial lamb of sorts to the Liberal Democrats, according to the Wall Street Journal. Brown hasn’t announced when he will leave office. In his present capacity as head of the Labor Party, which he will also be resigning, it could easily be construed as an offer meant to woo the Liberal Democrats away from the Conservatives and to forming a different coalition government with Labor instead.
Challenges presented in forming coalition governments
The decision then falls to Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats to pick which party they wish to form an agreement to form a government with. Currently, The Liberal Democrats are working on forming a coalition government with David Cameron and the Conservative Party, in order to gain a majority, form a government, and solve the first hung parliament in 36 years.
Why this is bad
The United Kingdom, just as the United States, has been having problems lately. Taxation in the U.K is more than in the U.S. (up to 50 percent of income) and alongside other economic woes in Europe, also has a growing deficit. There is a Greece bailout being put together, and European markets have to be stabilized or there will be disastrous ramifications worldwide.
Sources
Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703880304575235731729521938.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsSecond