Author: xaurav

Gordon Brown has said he is stepping down as Labour Party leader.

Mr Brown, prime minister since 2007, said he wanted a successor to be in place by the time of the party’s conference in September.

Mr Brown announced his intention to quit in a statement in Downing St in which he also said his party was to start formal talks with the Lib Dems.

The Conservatives won the most seats and most votes in the election and have been in talks with the Lib Dems.

But Mr Brown’s statement will be seen as a move to smooth the way to a deal between Labour and the Liberal Democrats to form a government.

Voters’ judgement

Mr Brown said Britain had a "parliamentary and not presidential system" and said there was a "progressive majority" of voters.

He said if the national interest could be best served by a coalition between the Lib Dems and Labour – he said he would "discharge that duty to form that government".

But he added that no party had won an overall majority in the UK general election and, as Labour leader, he had to accept that as a judgement on him.

"I therefore intend to ask the Labour Party to set in train the processes needed for its own leadership election.

"I would hope that it would be completed in time for the new leader to be in post by the time of the Labour Party conference.

"I will play no part in that contest, I will back no individual candidate."

Formal process

Lib Dem leader Mr Clegg had requested formal negotiations with Labour and it was "sensible and in the national interest" to respond positively to the request, Mr Brown said.

He said the Cabinet would meet soon and a "formal policy negotiation process" would be established.

It emerged earlier that the Lib Dem negotiating team, who have held days of talks with the Conservatives, had also met senior Labour figures in private.

The BBC’s political editor Nick Robinson said one of the stumbling blocks to any Lib Dem-Labour deal had been Mr Brown himself.

John Mann, the first Labour MP to call for him to go after the election result, said Mr Brown had made a "wise and brave" decision.

The Tories secured 306 of the 649 constituencies contested on 6 May. It leaves the party short of the 326 MPs needed for an outright majority, with the Thirsk and Malton seat – where the election was postponed after the death of a candidate – still to vote.

Labour finished with 258 MPs, down 91, the Lib Dems 57, down five, and other parties 28.

If Labour and the Lib Dems joined forces, they would still not have an overall majority.

With the support of the Northern Irish SDLP, one Alliance MP, and nationalists from Scotland and Wales they would reach 328, rising to 338 if the DUP, the independent unionist and the new Green MP joined them.

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Head teachers at hundreds of schools in England are staging a boycott of the national schools tests for 11-year-olds.

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A union has won its High Court bid to halt government cost-cutting measures which threatened to reduce the level of redundancy pay for civil servants.

Lawyers for the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) argued changes made to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme without agreement were unlawful.

Mr Justice Sales ruled the union’s application for judicial review should succeed and the changes be quashed.

It follows a series of strikes across the UK, including one on Budget Day.

Tens of thousands of workers took part in the industrial action, which hit job centres and benefit offices, courts, ports, driving tests and Whitehall departments.

‘Gone too far’

The union claimed the changes – which came into play on 1 April and removed or reduced payments based upon age and length of service – threatened to "rob" existing staff of up to a third of their redundancy entitlements – worth tens of thousands of pounds.

PCS general secretary

After the ruling in London, PCS solicitor Richard Arthur said: "If the government wants to alter rights which have been agreed for civil servants then it has to get the agreement of the unions.

"That is what the law says, and that is what the judge has ruled today."

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said the ruling was a "huge tribute" to union members who had faced some "disgraceful criticism from their employer and ministers" but "refused to sit back and watch their terms and conditions ripped up in front of their eyes".

"We have always accepted that changes are necessary but all we ever asked is that they were fair and protected those who have given loyal service.

"We will now be knocking on the door of the next government to remind ministers they are legally obliged to reach an agreement with us. If they do not meet their obligations, the union will have to consider further industrial and legal action," he said.

‘Legitimate expectation’

At a recent hearing at the High Court, Nigel Giffin QC, appearing for the PCS, said the union’s position was that changes had gone "too far in terms of their impact on existing staff".

Mr Giffin told Mr Justice Sales it was important not to lose sight of the fact the compensation scheme was "a significant part of the overall terms and conditions of employment of a civil servant".

He said the compensation scheme had been introduced by Parliament – under the 1972 Superannuation Act – to give statutory protection to civil servants who had already provided loyal service.

The legislation had given rise to a "legitimate expectation" that relevant terms of the scheme would not be altered without the consent of staff and their trade unions.

The changes introduced in April brought some transitional protection for those in post, but was limited in scope and duration and had not had union consent, he said.

The government had defended the legality of the amendments and pointed out it had reached agreement with other trade unions over the changes.

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A Zimbabwean court has acquitted a leading politician, Roy Bennett, on charges of plotting to overthrow President Robert Mugabe.

Mr Bennett is a senior member of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party.

The judge ruled that the prosecution failed to prove that its alleged link of Mr Bennett to a convicted arms dealer was genuine.

The case had threatened to split the country’s unity government of long-term rivals Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai.

Mr Bennett was already free on bail.

‘Good triumphs’

Speaking outside the court in Harare, he told the BBC he was happy to be acquitted and now had the time and strength to move on.

"Good has triumphed over evil," he said.

The white farmer is a leading member of Mr Tsvangirai’s MDC (Movement for Democratic Change).

He was to have taken a position as deputy minister for agriculture in the government when he was arrested in February 2009.

"Having carefully considered the facts, I come to the conclusion that the state has failed to prove a prima facie case," said Judge Chinembiri Bhunu.

"The accused is accordingly found not guilty."

He said that the prosecutors’ key evidence – an alleged confession from arms dealer Peter Hitschmann – was inadmissible.

In earlier testimony to the court, Mr Hitschmann had said evidence he gave allegedly showing links to Mr Bennett had been extracted under torture.

Judge Bhunu also said prosecutors had not proved that e-mails allegedly linking Mr Bennett to Mr Hitschmann were genuine.

Mr Bennett’s supporters, including the prime minister, had said the charges were politically motivated and aimed at undermining the coalition government.

A spokesman for the MDC has said the party will push for Mr Bennett to take up his ministerial position immediately.

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Boss Carlo Ancelotti intends to establish Chelsea as the leading force in English football after winning the Premier League title in his first season at the club.

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Senior Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are due to resume talks on forming a government.

On Sunday negotiating teams spent six hours in "very positive and productive" talks and the party leaders had a 45-minute face-to-face discussion.

The Tories said they and the Lib Dems were "discussing specific proposals" and both sides said economic stability would be key to any agreement.

It emerged Mr Clegg had also met Gordon Brown to discuss a potential deal.

Mr Brown has offered the Lib Dems talks if no agreement is reached with the Conservatives.

The prime minister and Mr Clegg met at the Foreign Office, after Mr Brown arrived back at Downing Street on Sunday afternoon from his home in Scotland.

A Downing Street spokesman told the BBC it had been an "amicable discussion".

Mr Cameron was aware of the meeting.

The Conservative negotiating team consists of Shadow foreign secretary William Hague, shadow chancellor George Osborne, policy chief Oliver Letwin and chief of staff Ed Llewellyn.

Their Lib Dem counterparts are MPs Chris Huhne – Lib Dem home affairs spokesman – Andrew Stunell, David Laws and chief of staff Danny Alexander.

They will resume talks on Monday, and Conservative MPs are due to meet later in the day.

The Tories won the most votes and MPs in Thursday’s election, but are short of a majority and are seeking support from the Lib Dems to form a government.

Gordon Brown remains prime minister, and government business continues, with Chancellor Alistair Darling attending a meeting of finance ministers in Brussels.

BBC political editor Nick Robinson said of the Tory-Lib Dem negotiations: "They are not merely going through the motions. There are real and substantial talks."

He said it was "make your mind up time for Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems", adding that they "have to do it pretty soon".

On Sunday, emerging from the Cabinet Office after a day of talks, Mr Hague said: "The issues that we have covered have included political reform, economic issues and reduction of the deficit, banking reform, civil liberties, environmental issues."

He added that both sides "agreed that a central part of any agreement that we make will be economic stability and the reduction of the budget deficit".

Minutes later, Mr Alexander also made a brief statement, describing the talks as wide-ranging and "good", and also emphasising that deficit reduction was important.

Speaking on Sunday before the talks Nick Clegg said: "I’m very keen the Liberal Democrats should play a constructive role at a time of great economic uncertainty to provide a good government that this country deserves.

"Throughout that we will continue to be guided by the big changes we want."

The Lib Dem leader has said the Conservatives, as the biggest party, have the right to seek to form a government first.

They have met the Tory team three times, assisted by civil servants as agreed in the arrangements for a hung parliament.

Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg first met for face-to-face talks over a possible coalition on Saturday and discussed it again by phone a day later.

Former Lib Dem leader Lord Ashdown said it was important that the party talked to the Conservatives at the same time as "listening to Labour".

"The central proposition is: what combination serves the nation’s interests in providing stable, long-term stability in order to tackle the crisis?" he said.

Also on Sunday Mr Brown met Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, advisor Alastair Campbell, energy secretary Ed Miliband and deputy leader Harriet Harman in Downing Street.

And in an e-mail to Labour activists the prime minister thanked them for their work throughout the election."The past few days have seen us enter a political landscape not considered possible a few short weeks ago – with the outcome of the election leading to no single party able to form a majority government," he wrote.

"My duty as prime minister has been to seek to resolve this situation."

Several Labour backbenchers have called for Mr Brown to step down.

BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said: "Privately the assessment of senior labour sources is that the Liberal Democrats are most likely to reach a deal with the Conservatives which falls short of a formal coalition and which would allow David Cameron to govern without a majority.

"However they are encouraged that some very senior Liberal Democrats are highly sceptical about reaching any accommodation with the Conservatives and feel the space has opened up for the possibility of an alternative deal with Labour."

Scotland’s First Minister, SNP leader Alex Salmond, has called on the Lib Dems to join a "progressive alliance" involving Labour, the SNP and Plaid Cymru.

The Tories secured 306 of the 649 constituencies contested on 6 May. It leaves the party short of the 326 MPs needed for an outright majority.

The Thirsk and Malton seat – where the election was postponed after the death of a candidate – is still to vote.

Labour finished with 258 MPs, down 91, the Lib Dems 57, down five, and other parties 28.

If Labour and the Lib Dems joined forces, they would still not be the largest grouping. With the support of the Northern Irish SDLP, one Alliance MP, and nationalists from Scotland and Wales they would reach 330, rising to 338 if the DUP, the independent unionist and the new Green MP joined them.

What’s your reaction to a possible coalition? Send us your comments.

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Why do head teachers hate Sats?

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The trial of three ex-British Airways executives and one current employee on price-fixing charges collapses.

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Leading European shares jump after Europe agrees measures to try to stop the Greek debt crisis affecting other countries.

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