The Fellowship of the New Life
Encyclopedia
The Fellowship of the New Life was a British organization in the 19th century, most famous for a splinter group, the Fabian Society
.
It was founded in 1883, by the Scottish intellectual Thomas Davidson
. Fellowship members included poets Edward Carpenter
and John Davidson
, animal rights activist Henry Stephens Salt
, sexologist Havelock Ellis
, feminist Edith Lees
(who later married Ellis), novelist Olive Schreiner
and future Fabian secretary Edward R. Pease
. Future UK Prime Minister Ramsey MacDonald was briefly a member. According to MacDonald, the Fellowship's main influences were Henry David Thoreau
and Ralph Waldo Emerson
. The Fellowship published a journal called Seed-Time.
Its objective was "The cultivation of a perfect character in each and all." They wanted to transform society by setting an example of clean simplified living for others to follow. Many of the Fellowship's members advocated pacifism
, vegetarianism
and simple living
, under the influence of Leo Tolstoy
's ideas. But when some members also wanted to become politically involved to aid society's transformation, it was decided that a separate society, the Fabian Society
, would also be set up. All members were free to attend both societies. The Fellowship of the New Life disbanded in 1898.
Although not a member, Patrick Geddes
was influenced by some of the organisation's
ideas.
was heavily influenced by the writings of Italian philosopher and priest Antonio Rosmini-Serbati
. Upon studying and translating Rosmini’s writings, Davidson began to formulate the idea that would to the creation of the Fellowship, that pure intelligence would lead to a better and higher society.
Beginning in 1883, Davidson gave several public lectures, and slowly a small group of like-minded individuals began gathering with him for meetings at his home in Chelsea
, London
. Between 1881 to 1885, Thomas Davidson held small meetings with this group of intellectuals. These meetings were designed to incorporate people who held similar ideals as Davidson, and to form a small society promoting the reorganization of individual life. This reorganization would then lead to slow progress towards a higher overall form of human society. Davidson was much more interested in discussion and meetings about this goal than scientific study or speculation.
, ethics
, and social reform. He was a man full of ideas and wanted these ideas to see the light of day through his new society. Maurice Adams, one of the first members of the Fellowship, wrote of Davidson “ ‘Intellectual Honesty’ was his watchword, and what he had perhaps most at heart.”
At a meeting on 16 November 1883, a summary of the society’s goals was drawn up by Maurice Adams:
“We, recognizing the evils and wrongs that must beset men so long as our social life is based upon selfishness, rivalry, and ignorance, and desiring above all things to supplant it by a life based upon unselfishness, love, and wisdom, unite, for the purpose of realizing the higher life among ourselves, and of inducing and enabling others to do the same.
And we now form ourselves into a Society, to be called the Guild [Fellowship] of the New Life, to carry out this purpose.”
Vita Nuova
, the Labor Party
, and one of the most known people of the century. He was an English
poet
, socialist philosopher, anthologist, and early gay
activist. He was at the first meeting in 1883 and participated in the founding of the Fellowship of the New Life. He was also close to the Fabian Society which developed out of the Fellowship, and he advocated in his lectures the ideas of the Fabian Society. He married the sister of the Fabian Olivier and she was the treasurer of the post-Fabian Fellowship of the New Life while being supported by him. He was interested in the main ideas of the Fellowship, including politics and sexual radicalism, including the works of Henry Havelock Ellis.
citation.
’s Fellowship of the New Life. The Society was named after Fabius Cunctator, a suggestion by Frank Podmore
, because of Fabius’ successful policy of gradual change that the society favored. The first meeting included well-known people in the socialist cause, including J. Hunter Watts, Percival Chubb, Frank Podmore
, Edward Pease
, Hubert Bland
, Dr. Burns-Gibson, and Frederick Keddell, and although the society was a branch of the Fellowship of the New Life, Thomas Davidson shared no sympathies with Fabianism.
The Fabian Society had a more socialist movement than the Fellowship; however, it still had the individual as their base and starting point. It was geared more towards the external ideal rather than an inward one. Edward Pease said that the purpose of Fabianism was to reconstruct society to secure general welfare and happiness. Unlike the Fellowship the Fabian Society was more political and public, and their political section was influenced by Karl Marx
and the Social Democratic Federation (SDF). Havelock Ellis
says about the society: “an attempt to be more practical, and definitely more socialistic.”
The Fabian Society’s basis was to promote the transfer of land and capital to the State, equality of citizenship of men and women, and having public authority instead of private for the education and support of children. The resolutions of the Society were written by Frederick Keddell, the first secretary of the Fabian Society.
's Labour Party
in 1900. The party's constitution, written by Sidney Webb, borrowed heavily from the founding documents of the Fabian Society. As seen in the Labour Party Foundation Conference in 1900, the Fabian Society claimed 861 members and sent one delegate.
The Fabian society grew throughout 1930-1940 over many countries under the British rule, and many future leaders of these countries were influenced by the Fabians during their struggles for independence from the British. These leaders included India
's prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru
, Obafemi Awolowo
, who later became the premier of Nigeria
's defunct Western Region, and the founder of Pakistan
, Barrister Muhammad Ali Jinnah
. Lee Kuan Yew
, the first prime minister of Singapore
, had a political philosophy strongly influenced by the Fabian Society. Even in the 21st century, the Fabian Society's influence is felt through Labour Party leaders such as and former prime ministers of Great Britain, Tony Blair
and Gordon Brown
.
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...
.
It was founded in 1883, by the Scottish intellectual Thomas Davidson
Thomas Davidson (philosopher)
Thomas Davidson was a Scottish-American philosopher and lecturer.-Biography:Davidson was born of Presbyterian parents at Old Deer, near Aberdeen. After graduating from Aberdeen University as first graduate and Greek prizeman, he held the position of rector of the grammar school of Old Aberdeen...
. Fellowship members included poets Edward Carpenter
Edward Carpenter
Edward Carpenter was an English socialist poet, socialist philosopher, anthologist, and early gay activist....
and John Davidson
John Davidson (poet)
John Davidson was a Scottish poet, playwright and novelist, best known for his ballads. He also did translations from French and German...
, animal rights activist Henry Stephens Salt
Henry Stephens Salt
Henry Stephens Salt was an English writer and campaigner for social reform in the fields of prisons, schools, economic institutions, and the treatment of animals. He was a noted ethical vegetarian, anti-vivisectionist, socialist, and pacifist, and was well known as a literary critic, biographer,...
, sexologist Havelock Ellis
Havelock Ellis
Henry Havelock Ellis, known as Havelock Ellis , was a British physician and psychologist, writer, and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He was co-author of the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality in 1897, and also published works on a variety of sexual practices and...
, feminist Edith Lees
Edith Ellis
Edith Mary Oldham Ellis née Lees was a British writer and women's rights activist. She was married to the famous sexologist Havelock Ellis....
(who later married Ellis), novelist Olive Schreiner
Olive Schreiner
Olive Schreiner was a South African author, anti-war campaigner and intellectual. She is best remembered today for her novel The Story of an African Farm which has been highly acclaimed ever since its first publication in 1883 for the bold manner in which it dealt with some of the burning issues...
and future Fabian secretary Edward R. Pease
Edward R. Pease
Edward Reynolds Pease was an English writer and a founding member of the Fabian Society.Pease, the sixth of fifteen children, was born near Bristol, the son of devout Quakers, Thomas Pease and Susanna Ann Fry sister of Edward Fry, the judge...
. Future UK Prime Minister Ramsey MacDonald was briefly a member. According to MacDonald, the Fellowship's main influences were Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...
and Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
. The Fellowship published a journal called Seed-Time.
Its objective was "The cultivation of a perfect character in each and all." They wanted to transform society by setting an example of clean simplified living for others to follow. Many of the Fellowship's members advocated pacifism
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
, vegetarianism
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
and simple living
Simple living
Simple living encompasses a number of different voluntary practices to simplify one's lifestyle. These may include reducing one's possessions or increasing self-sufficiency, for example. Simple living may be characterized by individuals being satisfied with what they need rather than want...
, under the influence of Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
's ideas. But when some members also wanted to become politically involved to aid society's transformation, it was decided that a separate society, the Fabian Society
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...
, would also be set up. All members were free to attend both societies. The Fellowship of the New Life disbanded in 1898.
Although not a member, Patrick Geddes
Patrick Geddes
Sir Patrick Geddes was a Scottish biologist, sociologist, philanthropist and pioneering town planner. He is known for his innovative thinking in the fields of urban planning and education....
was influenced by some of the organisation's
ideas.
Origins
Thomas DavidsonThomas Davidson (philosopher)
Thomas Davidson was a Scottish-American philosopher and lecturer.-Biography:Davidson was born of Presbyterian parents at Old Deer, near Aberdeen. After graduating from Aberdeen University as first graduate and Greek prizeman, he held the position of rector of the grammar school of Old Aberdeen...
was heavily influenced by the writings of Italian philosopher and priest Antonio Rosmini-Serbati
Antonio Rosmini-Serbati
Blessed Antonio Rosmini-Serbati was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and philosopher. He founded the Rosminians, officially the Institute of Charity or Societas a charitate nuncupata.-Biography:...
. Upon studying and translating Rosmini’s writings, Davidson began to formulate the idea that would to the creation of the Fellowship, that pure intelligence would lead to a better and higher society.
Beginning in 1883, Davidson gave several public lectures, and slowly a small group of like-minded individuals began gathering with him for meetings at his home in Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Between 1881 to 1885, Thomas Davidson held small meetings with this group of intellectuals. These meetings were designed to incorporate people who held similar ideals as Davidson, and to form a small society promoting the reorganization of individual life. This reorganization would then lead to slow progress towards a higher overall form of human society. Davidson was much more interested in discussion and meetings about this goal than scientific study or speculation.
Early intentions
Davidson was a major proponent of a structured philosophy about religionReligion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
, and social reform. He was a man full of ideas and wanted these ideas to see the light of day through his new society. Maurice Adams, one of the first members of the Fellowship, wrote of Davidson “ ‘Intellectual Honesty’ was his watchword, and what he had perhaps most at heart.”
At a meeting on 16 November 1883, a summary of the society’s goals was drawn up by Maurice Adams:
“We, recognizing the evils and wrongs that must beset men so long as our social life is based upon selfishness, rivalry, and ignorance, and desiring above all things to supplant it by a life based upon unselfishness, love, and wisdom, unite, for the purpose of realizing the higher life among ourselves, and of inducing and enabling others to do the same.
And we now form ourselves into a Society, to be called the Guild [Fellowship] of the New Life, to carry out this purpose.”
Vita Nuova
The initial Fellowship was composed of about nine members, one of whom was Dr. Burns Gibson. He proposed a set of principles that took the form of a resolutions list. At one meeting of the Fellowship, the “Vita Nuova” was created and adopted by the group’s members. This basic document formed the core set of beliefs held by the society. This is as the document appears in its original form, as seen in the Memorials of Thomas Davidson:Vita Nuova
- Object. The cultivation of a perfect character in each and all.
- Principle. The subordination of material things to spiritual things.
- Fellowship. The sole and essential condition of fellowship shall be a single-minded, sincere, and strenuous devotion to the object and principle.
- Intercourse. It is intended in the first instance to hold frequent gatherings for intimate social intercourse, as a step towards the establishment of a community among the members.
- Designs. The promotion, by both practice and precept, of the following methods of contributing toward the attainment of the end : (i) The supplanting of the spirit of competition and self-seeking by that of unselfish regard for the general good ; (2) simplicity of living; (3) the highest and completest education of the young; (4) the introduction, as far as possible, of manual labor in conjunction with intellectual pursuits ; (5) the organization, within and without the Fellowship, of meetings for religious communion, and of lectures, addresses, classes, and conferences for general culture, and for the furtherance of the aims of the Fellowship.
Edward Carpenter
Edward Carpenter (29 August 1844 – 28 June 1929) was a founding member of the Fellowship of the New Life. He was also one of the founders of the Fabian SocietyFabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...
, the Labor Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, and one of the most known people of the century. He was an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, socialist philosopher, anthologist, and early gay
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
activist. He was at the first meeting in 1883 and participated in the founding of the Fellowship of the New Life. He was also close to the Fabian Society which developed out of the Fellowship, and he advocated in his lectures the ideas of the Fabian Society. He married the sister of the Fabian Olivier and she was the treasurer of the post-Fabian Fellowship of the New Life while being supported by him. He was interested in the main ideas of the Fellowship, including politics and sexual radicalism, including the works of Henry Havelock Ellis.
Henry Havelock Ellis
By 1914, Havelock Ellis was present when the Fellowship of the New life was founded in London, but there was no record of contributions by him to discussion, although his participation in the organization increased after the formation of the Fabian SocietyFabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...
citation.
Edith Ellis
Edith Ellis née Lees, 1861–1916, was the first women served in secrete of the Fellowship of the New Life. One of the British writer and Women’s right activist and she married the member of the Fellowship of the New Life and the sexologist Havelock Ellis. She was active in a number of cultural and political enterprises before their 1887 meeting, but she entered to cultural history of the late 19th century England only with her participation in the Fellowship of the new life. There she met with Havelock Ellis and Edward Carpenter, who both recorded meeting with her. When the Fellowship was founded in October 1883, she didn’t join until three to four years later. After she joined she was a lecturer and writer and a secretary and general factotum of Fellowship house, an experiment in communal living in which the ideals of the Fellowship of the new life were to be made manifest in Doughty.The Fabian Society
The Fabian Society, established on 4 January 1884, was a branch of Thomas DavidsonThomas Davidson
Thomas Davidson was a British palaeontologist.-Biography:He was born in Edinburgh. His parents possessed considerable landed property in Midlothian...
’s Fellowship of the New Life. The Society was named after Fabius Cunctator, a suggestion by Frank Podmore
Frank Podmore
Frank Podmore was an English author, founding member of the Fabian Society, and writer on psychic matters.-Life:...
, because of Fabius’ successful policy of gradual change that the society favored. The first meeting included well-known people in the socialist cause, including J. Hunter Watts, Percival Chubb, Frank Podmore
Frank Podmore
Frank Podmore was an English author, founding member of the Fabian Society, and writer on psychic matters.-Life:...
, Edward Pease
Edward R. Pease
Edward Reynolds Pease was an English writer and a founding member of the Fabian Society.Pease, the sixth of fifteen children, was born near Bristol, the son of devout Quakers, Thomas Pease and Susanna Ann Fry sister of Edward Fry, the judge...
, Hubert Bland
Hubert Bland
Hubert Bland was an early English socialist and one of the founders of the Fabian Society.Born in Woolwich, south-east London, Bland wanted to join the army but instead became a bank clerk. In 1877, he met 19-year-old Edith Nesbit, a follower of William Morris. They married on 22 April 1880 with...
, Dr. Burns-Gibson, and Frederick Keddell, and although the society was a branch of the Fellowship of the New Life, Thomas Davidson shared no sympathies with Fabianism.
The Fabian Society had a more socialist movement than the Fellowship; however, it still had the individual as their base and starting point. It was geared more towards the external ideal rather than an inward one. Edward Pease said that the purpose of Fabianism was to reconstruct society to secure general welfare and happiness. Unlike the Fellowship the Fabian Society was more political and public, and their political section was influenced by Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
and the Social Democratic Federation (SDF). Havelock Ellis
Havelock Ellis
Henry Havelock Ellis, known as Havelock Ellis , was a British physician and psychologist, writer, and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He was co-author of the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality in 1897, and also published works on a variety of sexual practices and...
says about the society: “an attempt to be more practical, and definitely more socialistic.”
The Fabian Society’s basis was to promote the transfer of land and capital to the State, equality of citizenship of men and women, and having public authority instead of private for the education and support of children. The resolutions of the Society were written by Frederick Keddell, the first secretary of the Fabian Society.
-
- Resolutions:
-
- "Resolution I.—That the Society be called the Fabian Society (as Mr. Podmore explained in allusion to the victorious policy of Fabius Cunctator) was carried by 9 votes to 2.
- "Resolution II.—That the Society shall not at present pledge its members to any more definite basis of agreement than that contained in the resolution of 23rd November, 1883.
- "Carried unanimously.
- "Resolution III.—In place of Mr. Podmore's first proposal it was eventually decided to modify the resolution of 7th November, 1883, by inserting the words 'to help on' between the words 'shall be' and the words 'the reconstruction.'
- "Resolution IV with certain omissions was agreed to unanimously, viz.: That with the view of learning what practical measures to take in this direction the Society should:
- "(a) Hold meetings for discussion, the reading of papers, hearing of reports, etc.
- "(b) Delegate some of its members to attend meetings held on social subjects, debates at Workmen's Clubs, etc., in order that such members may in the first place report to the Society on the proceedings, and in the second place put forward, as occasion serves, the views of the Society.
- "(c) Take measures in other ways, as, for example, by the collection of articles from current literature, to obtain information on all contemporary social movements and social needs.
-
- Resolutions:
Impact
The Fellowship of the New Life was dissolved in 1898, but the Fabian Society grew to become a preeminent academic society in the United Kingdom. Another group organized the name of Fabian society by the center of the founder Sidney and Beatrice Webb. After that, many of Fabians participated in the formation of EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
's Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
in 1900. The party's constitution, written by Sidney Webb, borrowed heavily from the founding documents of the Fabian Society. As seen in the Labour Party Foundation Conference in 1900, the Fabian Society claimed 861 members and sent one delegate.
The Fabian society grew throughout 1930-1940 over many countries under the British rule, and many future leaders of these countries were influenced by the Fabians during their struggles for independence from the British. These leaders included India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
's prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
, Obafemi Awolowo
Obafemi Awolowo
Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo was a Nigerian politician, trade unionist, author and statesman. A Yoruba and native of Ikenne in Ogun State of Nigeria, he started his career as a regional political leader like most of his pre-independence contemporaries and was responsible for much of the progressive...
, who later became the premier of Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
's defunct Western Region, and the founder of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Barrister Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a Muslim lawyer, politician, statesman and the founder of Pakistan. He is popularly and officially known in Pakistan as Quaid-e-Azam and Baba-e-Qaum ....
. Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...
, the first prime minister of Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, had a political philosophy strongly influenced by the Fabian Society. Even in the 21st century, the Fabian Society's influence is felt through Labour Party leaders such as and former prime ministers of Great Britain, Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
.