page_title: Premiership of Gordon Brown
section_title: Plots against leadership
hierarchical_section_title: Premiership of Gordon Brown / Leadership / Plots against leadership
caption_attribution_description: Gordon Brown at the Labour Party Conference 2008
context_page_description: The premiership of Gordon Brown began on 27 June 2007 when Brown accepted the Queen's invitation to form a government, replacing Tony Blair as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It ended with his resignation as Prime Minister on 11 May 2010. 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 was succeeded as Prime Minister by David Cameron after the 2010 general election.
  Brown's style of government differed from that of Tony Blair, who had been seen as presidential. Brown rescinded some of the policies which had been introduced or were planned by Blair's administration.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.
context_section_description: The first signs of internal disquiet towards Brown's policies surfaced in May 2008. The 2007 budget—his last as Chancellor—abolished the 10% income tax rate for the lowest earners (5.1 million people), increasing their rate to the next highest, 20%. Earners who fell within the 22% tax rate band had their rate reduced to 20%, and tax allowances were also made for over-65s. These measures came into effect in April 2008. The "10p tax rate cut" as it was commonly referred to, was sharply criticised by Frank Field and several other backbenchers. Field also said that Brown did not seem to be enjoying his job. Health Secretary Alan Johnson believed that Field was motivated primarily by a personal dislike of Brown, and Field later apologised, saying that he had regretted allowing his campaign to become personal. Chancellor Alistair Darling cut the tax rate for 22 million people and borrowed around £2.7 billion to reimburse those on lower and middle incomes who had suffered.
  In mid-2008, a large number of senior MPs openly called upon Brown to resign. This event was dubbed the "Lancashire Plot"; two backbenchers from North West England urged Brown to step down and a third questioned his chances of holding on to the Labour Party leadership. Several MPs said that if Brown did not recover in the polls by early 2009, he should call for a leadership contest. However, prominent MPs—including Jacqui Smith and Bill Rammell—said that Brown was the right person to lead Britain through its economic crisis.
  A second assault upon Brown's premiership was launched in September 2008 when Siobhain McDonagh—an MP who had never voted against the government—spoke of the need for discussion over Brown's position. McDonagh, a junior government whip, was sacked from her role on 12 September. McDonagh did not state that she wanted Brown deposed, but she implored the Labour Party to hold a leadership election. McDonagh spoke of a "huge number" of Labour MPs who wanted a leadership election. In the following days, several Labour MPs—including Field, Joan Ryan (who applied, as McDonagh had, for leadership nomination papers, and became the second rebel to be fired from her job), Jim Dowd, Greg Pope, and others who had previously held positions in government—said they wanted a contest. In an unrelated incident, 12 backbenchers signed a letter criticising Brown that was published in Progress magazine. One of these MPs, Eric Joyce, said that Brown's future hinged on his performance at the upcoming Labour Party conference.
  A Downing Street source responded to these incidents by stating, "The Blairites have been talking up the idea of loads of ministers resigning. But the best they can come up with is an assistant government whip". Tony Lloyd, chairman of the parliamentary Labour Party, called the rebellion a "bit of a sideshow", and Emily Thornberry MP called Brown the "best qualified" to lead Britain through the economic crisis of 2008. The Labour Party said that it had received letters from a small number of MPs asking why no nomination papers had been released. David Miliband continued to show his support for Brown in the face of the challenge in September, as did Business Secretary John Hutton, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn, and Chief Whip Geoff Hoon.
  Despite growing speculation over Brown's future, most of his ministers wanted him to lead the party. Harriet Harman and Foreign Secretary David Miliband said they were not preparing leadership bids. After Labour lost the Glasgow East by-election in July, Harman—the deputy leader of the party—suppressed rumours regarding her intentions, saying that Brown was the "solution", not the "problem"; Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, Justice Secretary Jack Straw, Schools Secretary Ed Balls and Cabinet Office Minister Ed Miliband re-affirmed their support for Brown. The deputy Prime Minister under Blair, John Prescott, also pledged his support. David Miliband was then forced to deny that he was plotting a leadership bid; in July, an article written by him for The Guardian was interpreted by the media as an attempt to und
caption: Brown at the Labour Party Conference 2008
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