The price for Clegg’s cooperation; the voluntary dethronement of Gordon Brown.
Gordon Brown says he is to step down and that a new leadership election is to be called by the Labour party.
5.06pm: Here are the main points.
• Gordon Brown is going to resign. He wants to stand down as Labour leader before the next Labour conference in the autumn. But he intends to remain as prime minister until then (if he can).
• Nick Clegg has formally opened talks with Labour. Brown said that Clegg rang him recently (presumably after the Lib Dem meeting) to say he would like to have formal talks with a Labour team.
• Brown is proposing a “progressive” government, comprising Labour, the Lib Dems, and presumably the SNP, Plaid Cymru, the SDLP and the Alliance. Electoral reform would be a priority.
5.04pm: Brown says he will “facilitate” the discussions with the Lib Dems.
5.03pm: Brown says he has “no desire” to stay in his position longer than is needed. He would be willing to stay in office until the a new government is formed. But the election was a judgment on him. He is going to ask Labour to organise a leadership election, so that a new leader can be in place by the time of the conference. He will play no part in that contest.
5.02pm: He says he has had conversations with people like the head of the IMF about the eurozone crisis.
So we’ll have yet another unelected PM. Cheers then, Cleggy.
It had better not be a Milliband. (My money’s on Alan Johnson, but you knew that.)
Mind you the whole thing makes Cameron look like the over-confident, entitled tosser he is, and that can’t be a bad thing.
