James Gordon Brown

Biography

Gordon Brown was re-elected MP for Kircaldy and Cowdenbeath in May 2010 with a majority of 23,009 votes.

Born in Scotland in 1951, Gordon Brown is the second of three sons. He grew up in the town of Kirkcaldy, an industrial centre famed for its linoleum and mining industries, during a time of rising unemployment and desperate poverty.

Like many other boys in Scotland, football was Mr Brown's passion. A keen Raith Rovers supporter from childhood, he earned pocket money by selling programmes for the team. He also produced a newspaper with his brothers, which they sold for charity.

Mr Brown married his wife Sarah at their home in North Queensferry on 3 August 2000. They have two sons, John and Fraser.

Mrs Brown is the president of the children's charity PiggyBankKids, which supports the Jennifer Brown Research Laboratory, a project set up in memory of their daughter.

At the age of ten, he joined Kirkcaldy High School and later hecame one of the youngest students to go to Edinburgh University since the war.

Just before he went to university, Mr Brown injured his eye playing for his school team at rugby which eventually resulted in detached retinas in both eyes. He spent much of his early years at university in hospital or recuperating.

Having gained a First Class honours degree and a number of prizes for his studies, Mr Brown became the youngest ever Rector of Edinburgh University in 1972.

In his working life, Mr Brown spent time as a university and college lecturer and also wrote a number of books. His book on James Maxton is about the early Labour MPs and their struggles. 'Values, Visions and Voices' is a study of the idealism and zeal of Labour's early thinkers. And 'The Real Divide', written with Robin Cook, is a study of poverty and inequality. More recently, a collection of his speeches has been published as 'Moving Britain Forward'.

After unsuccessfully fighting Michael Ancram for the Conservative seat of Edinburgh South in 1979, Mr Brown became MP for Dunfermline East in 1983 with a majority of 11,000.

Into Parliament In 1983, as MP for Dunfermline East and Chair of the Labour Party's Scottish Council, Mr Brown shared his first office in the House of Commons with Tony Blair and the two became friends.

Mr Brown's maiden speech was on the growing problem of unemployment, of which he said:

"The chance of a labourer getting a job in my constituency is 150 to 1 against. There is only one vacancy in my local career office for nearly 500 teenagers who have recently left school."

Identified early on by Neil Kinnock as a rising talent, Mr Brown became Shadow Spokesman for Trade and Industry, working with John Smith, and the two formed a close working relationship. When John Smith became leader, he appointed Gordon Brown to be Shadow Chancellor.

After John Smith's sudden death, Mr Brown continued to be Shadow Chancellor and backed Tony Blair for the leadership of the Labour Party. Working together they won a landslide majority in 1997.

Chancellor of the Exchequer He served as chancellor from 1997 until 2007, when he became prime minister. Despite numerous attempts to oust him from Labour backbenchers he survived until the general election of 2010, when New Labour lost its overall majority and exited power. Mr Brown continues as a local MP, but is now rarely seen in the Commons.

Constituency

Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath

Twitter

Constituency Address

318 High Street Cowdenbeath Fife KY4 9QJ

Constituency Tel

01383 611702

Date of Birth

20 February 1951

Email

Party

Labour

Personal Website

http://www.gordonandsarahbrown.com/

Westminster Address

10 Downing Street, London, SW1A 2AA

Westminster Tel

020 7219 6345