The PM who won the public’s respect but not their affection

HE became Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party without an election, and now Gordon Brown has lost his job after failing in the biggest electoral test of his life.

Winning a fourth term for Labour was always going to be a tall order after a deep recession, two unpopular wars and a huge parliamentary expenses scandal. But throughout the election, Brown insisted he was fighting for a majority Labour government.

Even polls which gave the Conservatives the lead during the campaign held out hope for Brown that he might be thrown a lifeline by the peculiarities of the Westminster voting system, which could deliver the most seats to a party finishing second – or even third – in the popular vote.

But it always seemed likely that a clear Conservative victory would cost him the Labour leadership, and Nick Clegg made it clear he could demand Brown’s removal as part of the price for Liberal Democrat support in a hung parliament.

The 59-year-old Scot has often said he would be ready to move on to work in charity or education if he felt he had nothing more to offer Labour, and now he is facing just such a change in career.

Born the son of a Church of Scotland minister in 1951, Gordon Brown was fast-tracked into Edinburgh University aged just 16, where he suffered a rugby accident which blinded him in one eye and required lengthy treatment to save the sight in the other.

While working as a politics lecturer and journalist, he fought his way into a prominent position in the Scottish Labour Party, arriving at Westminster in 1983 as MP for Dunfermline East.

He was swiftly spotted as a rising talent, joining the front benches within two years and rising to shadow chancellor in 1992.

After the surprise death of John Smith in 1994, he was viewed by many as a natural successor. But he struck a deal with Tony Blair, under which the younger man would take the leadership in return for a promise of control over economic policy and an eventual handover of power.

Together, the two men forged the New Labour machine which triumphed in 1997 and dominated British politics for the following decade.

But the deal carried in it the seeds of their future rivalry, with reliable reports of furious rows behind the scenes in Downing Street as Brown demanded that Blair name a date for the succession.

Meanwhile, Brown married PR executive Sarah Macaulay at the age of 49.

The couple faced heartache in their family life, as first child Jennifer died after just 10 days in 2002 and second son Fraser was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis.

After 10 years at the Treasury, where he earned a reputation as the “Iron Chancellor” who claimed to have ended boom and bust, Brown finally replaced Blair at 10 Downing Street on June 27, 2007.

Supporters hailed him as the “big clunking fist” who would crush any opposition but Tories demanded an instant election for the unelected PM to seek a mandate.

Brown did toy with the idea of a snap election amid favourable polls, but declined after a Tory revival fuelled by promises to slash inheritance tax.

He must now rue the decision, which led to him being branded a “ditherer” and Labour slumping in the polls to levels last seen under Michael Foot’s disastrous leadership. Electoral conditions have never been so favourable for Labour since.

As storm-clouds gathered over the economy and the Government was forced into multibillion- pound bank bailouts, Brown’s hard-won reputation for economic competence came under near-unsustainable pressure. And the expenses scandal cast a pall over his premiership, even if he did not personally face serious charges.

But Brown showed no sign of giving in. He led international agreement at the London Summit to tackle the downturn and cemented a surprising new alliance with former enemy Peter Mandelson to see off a series of leadership challenges.

Meanwhile, wife Sarah was brought into the public eye to show the softer side of a politician who has always seemed uncomfortable talking about his personal life.

Last Thursday, voters passed their verdict on a man who has been a towering presence in Britain’s public life for a generation and has won the public’s grudging respect for his hard work and dedication without ever really securing their affection.