Prime Minister Gordon Brown today announced his decision to resign as leader of the Labour party, following talks between Labour and the Liberal-Democrats as to the shape of Britain's future government.
This move has been interpreted by some political commentators as an attempt to secure an alliance between the two left-wing parties as part of a Lib-Lab (Liberal Democrat-Labour) coalition government, which would prevent the Conservatives from ruling as a minority.
Brown States His Resignation
Mr. Brown - who has acted as prime minister since former-PM Tony Blair's resignation in 2007 - said in a statement made in Downing Street: "I have no desire to stay in my position longer than is needed to ensure the path to economic growth is ensured and the process of political reform we have agreed moves forward quickly."
He added: "The reason that we have a hung parliament is that no single party was able to win the full support of the country. As leader of my party, I must accept that that is a judgement on me.
"I therefore intend to ask the Labour party to set in train the processes needed for its own leadership election."
Brown also said he hoped his successor would be in place by September - the month of the annual Labour Party conference.
Labour Agrees to Negotiate with the Liberal Democrats
For days the Liberal Democrats - who came third in the general election - have been meeting with senior members of the Conservative party, including party leader David Cameron, to discuss the possibility of forming a coalition government.
During these talks Nick Clegg - the leader of the Liberal Democrats - made clear to David Cameron that electoral reform is his party's top priority, proposing proportional representation as a replacement for the current first-past-the-post system.
However, formal talks are now to include the Labour party as the Lib Dems express their willingness to open negotations, following criticism by Tory back-benchers of Mr. Clegg's proposed policy of electoral reform.
Mr. Brown said that it would be "sensible and in the national interest" to comply. He also commented that Britain had a "parliamentary and not presidential system" and that there was a "progressive majority" of voters.
The Results of the 2010 General Election
Negotiations were originally opened between Britain's three main parties after the general election on May 6 resulted in a hung parliament, with the Conservative party falling short of the 326 seats needed to rule.
The Conservatives finished with 306 seats, the Labour party with 258, the Liberal Democrats with 75 and other parties with 28.
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