Gordon Brown/Timelines
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Parliamentary Career
Opposition
1983 Elected Member of Parliament for Dunfermline East as a member of the Labour Party under the leadership of Neil Kinnock.
1967 Appointed Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
1989 Appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
1992 Appointed Shadow Chancellor
- John Smith replaces Neil Kinnock as Leader of the Opposition.
1994 Labour Party leadership election following the death of John Smith
- Gordon Brown agrees not to stand against Tony Blair - who is then elected leader
Chancellor of the Exchequer
Constitutional innovations1997-98.
- Independence for the Bank of England
- Five tests for Euro membership
- Code for Fiscal Stability
- Pre-budget reports
Fiscal contraction 1997-2000
- the budget balance changed from a deficit of 2.4 per cent of national income in 1996-7 to a surplus of 2.4 per cent in 2000-01, and the national debt fell from 42.5% of in 1996–97 to 30.7% of national income in 2000–01[1]
Public sector investment and fiscal expansion 2000-2007
- increased investment in health and education
- the current budget balance moved from a surplus of 2.4 per cengt of national income in 2000–01 to a deficit of 0.3 per cent of national income by 2007–08 and the national debt rose to 36.5 per cent of national income in 2007–08.[1]
International activities 1999-2007
- Chair of the International Monetary and Finance Committee 1999-2007
Prime Minister
2007-2009 Financial Crisis
- October 2008 Gordon Brown's bank support plan adopted in the EU and the USA[2]
2010 Northern Ireland agreement
2010 Deficit reduction plans
- Fiscal Responsibility Act[3] - imposes a duty on the Treasury to ensure that by the financial year ending 2014 public sector net borrowing as a percentage of GDP is at least halved from its level for the financial year ending 2010, and to make continuing reductions thereafter.
2010 General election
Opposition
Personal history
1951 Born
1967 Edinburgh University
1970 Master of Arts (with1st class honours)
1972 Elected Rector, Edinburgh University
1976: Politics lecturer, Glasgow College of Technology
1980: Journalist (current affairs) Scottish Television
1996: Member of Privy Council
2000: Marriage to Sarah Macaulay