British Prime Minister Gordon Brown offered to step down as Labour Party leader today if current efforts to build a new government with the Liberal Democrats were to succeed, dpa quoted Brown as saying in London today, according to dpa. In a dramatic twist to the ongoing saga of coalition-building following last Thursday's inconclusive general election, Brown confirmed that Liberal leader Nick Clegg had offered Labour "formal discussions" about a possible Labour-Liberal government. "If it becomes clear that the national interest, which is stable and principled government, can best be served by forming a coalition between the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats, then I believe I should discharge that duty, support that government which would, in my view, command a majority in the House of Commons," said Brown. "But I have no desire to stay in my position longer than is needed to ensure the path to economic growth is assured and the process of political reform we have agreed moves forward quickly," Brown said. He would ask the Labour Party to set in train the processes for a leadership election and he would not be standing. That process should be completed well before the Labour Party conference in September. His offer came after the Liberals' four-day talks with the Conservatives clearly hit a snag when Clegg could not ascertain full backing for a deal with the Conservatives from his own parliamentary party. Labour, keen to stay in government, had now offered "Plan B" to the Liberals, who had clearly insisted on a change of leadership if there were to be a Lib-Lab alliance. Although the Conservatives emerged as the biggest party from the election, they did not win an outright majority. Labour lost votes, scoring its worst result since 1983. But the party hopes that a Lib-Lab pact, which would require support from other small parties, can be formed.
