Brown's Britain

UK Deporting HIV Patients to 'Death Sentence'

Guardian (UK)  |  Dec 1, 08 4:58 AM CST

(Newser) - An African policy group is accusing the UK of deporting immigrants who were being treated for HIV to almost certain death in places where they will be unable to acquire drugs needed to survive. Advocates call the move hypocritical since Britain is a vocal backer of an international declaration calling for universal access to AIDS drugs, the Guardian reports. More »

Gleeful Brown Is Acting Like a Drunk Dowager

Daily Telegraph (UK)  |  Nov 25, 08 10:56 AM CST

(Newser) - Gordon Brown, "known as a gloomy old nail-biting misery-guts," has turned into the life of the party ever since the economic downturn hit Britain, writes Boris Johnson in the Telegraph . Deeming that the swooning market and plummeting home prices demand action, he's gleefully launched measures that will incur a deficit that's 8% of GDP and a national debt reaching 60%, says Johnson, London's mayor. More »

Britain Will Resist US Calls for Afghan Buildup

Guardian (UK)  |  Nov 10, 08 12:31 PM CST

(Newser) - Britain should oppose any calls from President Obama to shift troops to Afghanistan as they are pulled out of Iraq, the country's defense chief says, arguing that UK troops need a breather. “I have said for a very long time that the British armed forces are stretched,” Sir Jock Stirrup told the Guardian. “We have to put ourselves back into balance.” And the foreign secretary, David Miliband, says Britain is already doing its fair share in Afghanistan. More »

Upset Election Victory Gives Brown a Boost

Times (UK)  |  Nov 7, 08 7:51 AM CST

(Newser) - Labour won a stunning come-from-behind victory in a special election in Scotland early this morning, reports the Times of London, offering the first evidence that Gordon Brown's political recovery may be lasting. The election was called after the death of a Labour MP. The seat looked set to go to the separatist Scottish Nationalist Party, and Brown's team expected to lose even after polls closed last night. More »

Brown Surges 11 Points in Latest Poll

Independent (UK)  |  Oct 28, 08 9:42 AM CDT

(Newser) - A new poll for the Independent shows that Gordon Brown, Britain's once seemingly doomed prime minister, has surged 11 points as the financial crisis continues. The poll put support for the opposition Tories at 39%, Labour at 31%, and the third-party Liberal Democrats at 16%. Where once the Tories were cruising to victory, an election held today would produce a hung parliament—one where no party commanded a majority. More »

UK Tories Accused of Soliciting Russian Magnate

Daily Telegraph (UK)  |  Oct 21, 08 3:35 PM CDT

(Newser) - Britain's Conservative Party is taking heat for allegedly requesting $85,000 from a Russian billionaire and suggesting he skirt UK law by gifting the money through his British firm. The solicitation was firmly denied by the party’s finance spokesman, who confirmed he met with aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska but wouldn’t say if they discussed the matter, reports the Telegraph . More »

In Financial Crisis, Europe Leads the Way (for a Change)

New York Times  |  Oct 19, 08 8:08 AM CDT

(Newser) - The US has long considered Europe to be the economic equivalent of a doddering old uncle, but this week it was oldster leading whippersnapper America by the hand through the most serious crisis since the Depression. Europe, seeing the need for a sturdier fix than the mortgage-bailout Band-aid Washington proposed, led the charge by investing in its own banks, a move the US followed only after much hand-wringing. But it remains to be seen whether the trend will continue, the New York Times reports. More »

From Carnage of Crisis Rises Vast Opportunity

Washington Post  |  Oct 17, 08 7:31 AM CDT

(Newser) - The British plan to recapitalize world banks helped calm global markets, but Gordon Brown isn't done yet. In an op-ed for the Washington Post , the prime minister declares that we face "a defining moment for the world economy" on par with the aftermath of World War II, and that only a "new Bretton Woods"—a new system of global financial governance—can end the crisis and pave the way forward. More »

How Brown Became a Superhero

New York Times  |  Oct 15, 08 8:25 AM CDT

(Newser) - Unpopular at home and nearly invisible on the world stage, Gordon Brown endured a tough ride during his first year in power. But the global financial crisis has transformed the British prime minister, who now finds himself in the unlikely position of international superstar. As Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, and the US all emulate his recapitalization plan, Brown's once seemingly doomed premiership is looking up. More »

Crisis Separates the Champs From the Boobs

Financial Times (UK)  |  Oct 14, 08 12:10 PM CDT

(Newser) - The financial crisis hasn't just transformed the business world, writes Financial Times columnist Gideon Rachman; it's transformed world politics as well. Who are the winners and losers of the market upheaval? Gordon Brown seems more and more the "improbable savior" of the financial system. The British bailout has been taken up in Europe and the US, and the lugubrious PM is now an economic hero. George W Bush is the anti-Brown: the normally chipper president looks "panicky and out of his depth." More »

Brown's Failing Eyesight Raises Concerns

Daily Telegraph (UK)  |  Oct 12, 08 12:13 PM CDT

(Newser) - If Gordon Brown promises not to turn a blind eye to the financial crisis, he could mean that literally—the British prime minister lost the sight in one of his eyes in a rugby accident as a teenager. But now advisers are worried that Brown could lose the already-diminishing sight in his "good" eye, reports the Telegraph . More »

UK Buys Up Bank Shares in Radical Bailout

Wall Street Journal  |  Oct 8, 08 4:29 AM CDT

(Newser) - The British government will become part owner of the nation's biggest banks with a mammoth $88-billion rescue package for the troubled institutions, the Wall Street Journal reports. Under the plan, swiftly assembled after UK bank stocks plummeted in trading yesterday, the government will purchase non-voting shares in eight of the largest banks as a way to provide extra capital to the institutions. More »

Brown Appoints Archrival to Rejoin Cabinet

Times (UK)  |  Oct 3, 08 7:48 AM CDT

(Newser) - Gordon Brown shocked the British political establishment by reappointing one of his long-time enemies to his Cabinet. Peter Mandelson, who with Brown and Tony Blair was an architect of New Labour, will be made a lord and become the new business secretary. The return of Mandelson, currently serving in Brussels as the EU's trade commissioner, is "the most astonishing political reconcilation of modern times," writes the Times of London. More »

Bad News for Banks Is Great News for Brown

Daily Mail (UK)  |  Oct 1, 08 12:20 PM CDT

(Newser) - In America the financial crisis has dealt yet another blow to an already unpopular President Bush. But in Britain, collapsing banks and volatile markets are the best thing to happen to Gordon Brown in recent months. In reasserting his global economic know-how, the prime minister, who is reportedly preparing an American-style bailout, has seen his once dismal poll numbers climb fast, reports the Daily Mail . More »

British PM Adds Obama Clip in Bid to Boost Popularity