UK”s Brown resigns, Cameron to take over as PM

LONDON: Gordon Brown resigned as prime minister of Britain on Tuesday and said Conservative leader David Cameron would take over, ending 13 years of rule by the centre-left Labour Party.

The Conservatives won most seats in a parliamentary election last week but fell short of a majority. Labour came second and the Lib Dems a distant third.

Both the Conservatives and Labour tried to win Lib Dem support to form the next government during five days of intense negotiations, but it became clear on Tuesday afternoon that Labour had lost and Brown would have to resign.

“I have informed the Queen”s private secretary that it”s my intention to tender my resignation to the Queen,” Brown told reporters outside his Downing Street office.

The sequence of events was in accordance with British constitutional convention.

Brown”s statement made clear that the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats had secured some sort of power-sharing arrangement, but the exact details were not yet known.