Gordon Brown’s 13-year wait to become Labour Party leader was finally realised when he replaced Tony Blair as prime minister in June 2007. Blair, having been pressurised to stand aside in September 2006, left office at a moment of his own choosing before Brown’s supporters could again try to force him out. Brown won the Labour leadership unopposed and, it seemed, by acclamation, with the backing of 313 out of 325 Labour MPs. Other ministers, such as David Miliband (who was apparently urged by Blair to stand against Brown) and John Reid, briefly considered trying to succeed Blair, but no one, it seems, was prepared to challenge Brown, who had long been considered Labour’s biggest, most impressive beast. Such was the chancellor’s commanding lead among MPs that Miliband, apparently, thought it not worth antagonising Brown, especially if he was only putting down a marker for the future.
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