JIM LEHRER:
There was a fast-moving transition of power in Britain today. Conservative Leader David Cameron became prime minister, after Labor Party head Gordon Brown resigned.
Brown made a statement to the assembled media outside Number 10 Downing Street, his home for the last three years. His resignation brings the Labor Party's 13 years in power to a close.
GORDON BROWN, former British prime minister: As you know, the general election left no party able to command a majority in the House of Commons.
I said I would do all that I could to ensure a strong, stable, and principled government was formed, able to tackle Britain's economic and political challenges effectively.
My constitutional duty is to make sure that a government can be formed following last Thursday's general election. I have informed the queen's private secretary that it's my intention to tender my resignation to the queen. In the event that the queen accepts, I shall advise her to invite the leader of the opposition to seek to form a government.
I wish the next prime minister well as he makes the important choices for the future. Only those who have held the office of prime minister can understand the full weight of its responsibilities and its great capacity for good.
I have been privileged to learn much about the very best in human nature, and a fair amount, too, about its frailties, including my own.
Above all, it was a privilege to serve. And, yes, I loved the job, not for its prestige, its titles, and its ceremony, which I do not love at all. No, I loved the job for its potential to make this country I love fairer, more tolerant, more green, more democratic, more prosperous, and more just, truly a greater Britain.
My resignation as the leader of the Labor Party will take effect immediately. And, as I leave the second most important job I could ever hold, I cherish even more the first, as a husband and father.
Thank you, and goodbye.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7sa7SZ6arn1%2Bjsri%2Fx6isq2ejnby4e8%2BroKadXaK2r7XSrZyrZZekv6W7zWaZq6eno3qkscOeqmanlpu2pLGMraZmm5%2BjwKa%2B1Zqroq6VYrGiwsidZJyZnZq%2FsLo%3D