Chancellorship of Gordon Brown

Brown's chancellorship portrait
Chancellorship of Gordon Brown 2 May 1997 – 27 June 2007
Chancellor	Gordon Brown
Party	Labour
Election	1997, 2001, 2005
Nominated by	Tony Blair
Appointed by	Elizabeth II
Seat	11 Downing Street
← Kenneth Clarke Alistair Darling →
Coat of arms of HM Government

This article is part of a series about Gordon Brown
Electoral history MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath Shadow Chancellor Blair–Brown deal Chancellor of the Exchequer Chancellorship 1997 budget Five economic tests Financial Services Authority 10p tax rate Sale of UK gold reserves, 1999–2002 Policies Brownism New Labour Third Way Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Premiership 2007 leadership election Ministry Treaty of Lisbon 2008 financial crisis Bank rescue packages 2008 2009 Climate Change Act 2008 2009 European elections We not only saved the world Not flash, just Gordon 2010 general election Post–Prime Minister 2014 Scottish independence referendum Bibliography Courage: Eight Portraits Britain's Everyday Heroes The Change We Choose Beyond the Crash My Life, Our Times
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Gordon Brown served as Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. His tenure was marked by major reform of Britain's monetary and fiscal policy architecture, transferring interest rate setting powers to the Bank of England, by a wide extension of the powers of the Treasury to cover much domestic policy and by transferring responsibility for banking supervision to the Financial Services Authority. Brown presided over the longest period of sustained economic growth in British history.^[1][2] He had previously served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony Blair's Shadow Cabinet from 1994 to 1997. As Shadow Chancellor, Brown as Chancellor-in-waiting was seen as a good choice by business and the middle class.

Brown was appointed chancellor by Prime Minister Tony Blair following Labour's victory in the 1997 general election, its largest landslide general election victory in history, and served in the role throughout Blair's premiership. One of Brown's first acts as chancellor was to grant the Bank of England the freedom to set the UK's interest rate, a decision that had previously been the responsibility of the chancellor. Brown was reappointed chancellor following Labour's landslide victory in the 2001 general election, and won a third term after the party also won the 2005 general election, though with a vastly reduced majority.

During his chancellorship, Brown outlined five economic tests, which resisted the UK adopting the euro currency. Controversial moves included the abolition of advance corporation tax (ACT) relief in his first budget,^[3][4] the sale of UK gold reserves from 1999 to 2002, and the removal in his final budget of the 10% starting rate of personal income tax which he had introduced in 1999.^[5] In 2007, Brown was succeeded as chancellor by Alistair Darling the day after Brown succeeded Blair as Labour Party leader and prime minister, following Blair's resignation.^[6]

Brown's ten years and two months as Chancellor of the Exchequer set several records. He was the longest-serving Labour Party Chancellor of the Exchequer ever, beating Denis Healey, who was Chancellor for 5 years and 2 months from 5 March 1974 to 4 May 1979. On 15 June 2004, he became the longest continuous serving Chancellor since the Reform Act 1832, passing the figure of 7 years and 43 days set by David Lloyd George (1908–1915). However, William Ewart Gladstone was Chancellor for a total of 12 years and 4 months in the period from 1852 to 1882 (although not continuously).

Brown stated his chancellorship had seen the longest period of sustained economic growth in UK history,^[7][8] although part of this growth period started under the preceding Conservative government under John Major in 1993, and the details in Brown's growth figures have been challenged,^[9][10] as have his more general claims to have created the conditions for prosperity and declining poverty levels.^{[citation needed]}