Gordon Brown to announce departure as an MP “within days”

Former Labour leader and Prime Minister Gordon Brown is set to resign as MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath “within days” according to a report from the Sunday Mirror. Brown, who played a key role in the Scottish referendum campaign this year – giving a barnstorming speech on the eve of the vote that defined the case for the union. Brown’s rumoured departure follows his long-time ally Alistair Darling’s decision to quit Parliament in 2015. The Sunday Mirror reports:

“Gordon Brown will announce he is standing down as an MP “within days”, an ally of the former PM has revealed.

He is expected to formally announce before Christmas that he will quit at the general election in May after almost 32 years as an MP.

The move comes after Mr Brown, aged 63, was widely credited with rescuing the referendum campaign on Scottish independence.

A close ally of the former Labour PM disclosed to the Sunday Mirror: “Gordon has confirmed to friends that he will stand down at the election in May.

“He wants to go out on a high after effectively salvaging the campaign to keep the UK together in September. He will focus on his charity work.”

Brown was first elected as an MP in 1983, and served as Chancellor from 1997-2007 and Prime Minister from 2007-2010.