Brown to quit as Labour bids to woo Lib Dems

GORDON Brown last night announced he will resign as Labour leader – but offered to stay on as Prime Minister in a potential power-sharing government with the Liberal Democrats until his party has chosen a successor.

Brown said he had asked the Labour Party to set in train the formal mechanism to replace him, after insisting he was confident an administration could be formed with Lib Dem allies to command a majority in the Commons.

But the Conservatives later made a last-ditch attempt to forge their own deal with the Liberal Democrats, offering a referendum on the Alternative Vote (AV) electoral system for Westminster elections.