economy minister ben ivory described the party ' s loss to the british national government and to the greens as a , " terrible loss " and described the economic conditions such as rising agricultural and fuel costs as factors that dampens the labour party ' s appeal with the economy . conservative party leader david mcgregor defended bradshaw ' s opinion by saying , mr . brown was to reason for the economic distress . cameroon cited the prime designer ' s ten days of running the budget as minister prior to retaining office when david blair stepped down last year .
Blair was Prime Minister before Brown.