Excerpt from Sarafina : video posted for group 2

Britain has a new PM

Gordon Brown tendered his resignation to the Queen and gave a last speech in front of Number 10 Downing Street, before leaving with his wife and two sons.

7.56pm: Here is Brown's resignation speech:

As you know, the general election left no party able to command a majority in the House of Commons.

I said I would do all that I could to ensure a strong, stable and principled government was formed, able to tackle Britain's economic and political challenges effectively.

My constitutional duty is to make sure that a government can be formed following last Thursday's general election.

I have informed the Queen's private secretary that it's my intention to tender my resignation to the Queen. In the event that the Queen accepts, I shall advise her to invite the leader of the opposition to form a government. I wish the next prime minister well as he makes the important choices for the future.

Only those who have held the office of prime minister can understand the full weight of its responsibilities and its great capacity for good. I have been privileged to learn much about the very best in human nature, and a fair amount too about its frailties, including my own. Above all, it was a privilege to serve. And, yes, I loved the job, not for its prestige, its title and its ceremony, which I do not love at all. No, I loved this job for its potential, to make this country I love fairer, more tolerant, more green, more democratic, more prosperous and more just – truly a greater Britain.

In the face of many challenges in a few short years, challenges up to and including the global financial meltdown, I have always strived to serve, to do my best in the interests of Britain, its values and its people. And let me add one thing also. I will always admire the courage I have seen in our armed forces. And now that the political season is over, let me stress that having shaken their hands and looked into their eyes, our troops represent all that is best in our country and I will never forget all those who have died in honour and whose families today live in grief.

My resignation as leader of the Labour party will take effect immediately. In this hour I want to thank all my colleagues, ministers, members of parliament. And I want to thank above all my staff who have been friends as well as brilliant servants of the country. Above all, I want to thank Sarah for her unwavering support, as well as her love, and for her own service to our country. I thank my sons John and Fraser for the love and joy they bring to our lives. And as I leave the second most important job I could ever hold I cherish even more the first, as a husband and father. Thank you and goodbye.

Would you like to hear it for yourselves?

I've simply selected a snipet from the Guardian's live blog for my first year students who might remember what the new Clause 4 of the Labour Party is about...

8.25pm: Brown is in Labour HQ delivering a speech to party workers. He quotes the section from the new clause four about the people achieving more through the strength of their common endeavour.

Shortly after this, David Cameron went to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen and to "kiss hands". He then made a short speech before entering in Number 10.

The video is available on the Telegraph's website.

And that's all for tonight, folks.

the endgame?

Apparently the discussion with Labour has collapsed and Nick Clegg will shortly be entering into a coalition governement led by David Cameron. At least that's what is suggested in the latest up-dates on the live coverage of the day by the Telegraph and the Guardian.

Another great interactive feature from the Guardian to find out what Nick Clegg's secret list caught on camero through a car window contains.

I just copied this quotation from the Guardian's live coverage of the election aftermath:

8.39am: George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, has just been on the Today programme. He dismissed suggestions that the Tories could form a minority government.

I keep reading about this option and I'm afraid it doesn't really exist. We can't just turn up at Buckingham Palace and say we'd like to form a minority government. We would need the consent of the Liberal Democrats to form a minority government.

For this quotation in its context and much more on the election, visit the http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/may/11/general-election-2010-live-blog

Last night there were a few major moves made by all three parties:

- the Lib-Dems had been talking in secret to Labour

- Gordon Brown announced he would be resigning as PM before the next party conference (around November) and offered electoral reform to Lib-Dems in exchange for a coalition

- The Conservatives counter with an offer of a referendum on AV ( see bottom of my last post for an explanation on this electoral system) and a full coalition

Now, Nick Clegg and his party have to decide whether they wish to support the party to which they feel closest or the party which has the most MPs in Parliament.

up-date on general election

What on earth is going on in Britain?

The Lib-Dem surge proved to be a soufflé and the Conservatives, although they won 97 more seats than in 2005 are still 20 MPs short of an outright majority.

Nick Clegg has started negotiations with Cameron, although this is not really what the MPs and grass roots of either party want (read an article from the Telegraph on opposition to a deal by the Tory rank and file).

What will happen if no agreement is found? What are the prospects for electoral reform in each of these scenarios?

The Guardian also offers a simple explanation on the possible outcomes of these talks, in the form of a Q&A: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/may/10/hung-parliament-coalition-government

In Britain, it is possible to have a minority governement (for instance 306 MPs out of 650) but if the Conservatives form such a government they will need the occasional support of other MPs to get key legislation through, in particular the Queen's Speech and the budget.

For an explanation on all this : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8670411.stm

And for a schematic representation of the possible outcomes of an election : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8660699.stm

Over the weekend, Cameron and Clegg have been discussing the terms for an agreement but we don't know yet whether that will work. If there is no agreement, then either the Conservatives can try and govern without an outright majority and make deals with different MPs over particular legislation or else perhaps Brown and Clegg can make a deal to govern together, although they would still be short of an outright majority.

To follow the live coverage and find out about the latest progress in this matter, check: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/election2010/liveevent/

At any rate, what most commentators agree about is that there will be another general election quite soon.

Have a look at this explanation on the AV, AV+ and STV voting systems that are being discussed to replace the first past the post rule.

Parenthesis: a look at the British general election

I'd simply like to suggest a few articles on the British general election.

There are many good articles in French :

Le Monde has a good article on strategic voting and the possible outcomes of the election. It also provides many links to British websites.

The blog La vie des idées offers a spattering of articles on the subject :

• a summary of the content relating to Britain.
• the political and electoral crisis
• an in-depth analysis of the concepts of change as it was used in election campaigns

More interestingly, if you were British, which party would you support? Take this test and analyse the results (you can compare each of your positions with what each party thinks of the issues. If you are asked for a British postcode, you can use my old postcode from Durham : DH11DU.

Lots of last minute appeals from all newspapers :

• a bad-faithed attempt by The Telegraph to discourage tactical voting and support of the Lib-Dems: the firm in which Myriam Clegg (the Lib-Dem leader's wife) works declared that a hung parliament would be bad for Britain...
• A detailed guide to tactical voting by The Guardian which supports the Lib-Dems or a "progressive coalition" ( Lib-Lab)
• Wishful thinking from The Times : their last poll indicates that the Tories are on the brink of a getting a majority in the House of Commons
• In the meantime The Independent describes this election as a chance to get the electoral reform they have been calling for
• A bit of trashiness is also in order if you want a complete round-up of the British newspapers : TV star Simon Cowell (a judge on the tv-show Britain's got talent that brought Susan Boyle into the public eye last year) endorsed David Cameron in The Sun. Another famous tabloid, the Daily Mirror is trying to discredit Cowell's endorsement of the Tories by voicing the concerns of fans who are disappointed by a decision that they was made out of pure self interest ( he's a millionnaire) and perhaps due to pressure from Rupert Murdoch, the media mogul.