Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Thursday he was "disappointed" over the resignation of James Purnell, his work and pensions secretary.
In his letter of resignation — published by the Press Association — Purnell also called on Brown to step aside. “I now believe your continued leadership makes a Conservative victory more, not less likely,” he wrote. “That would be disastrous for our country. This moment calls for stronger regulation, an active state, better public services, an open democracy. It calls for a government that measures itself by how it treats the poorest in society. Those are our values, not David Cameron’s.”
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Cameron is leader of the opposition Conservative Party. In a written statement, the prime minister’s office said Gordon learned the news just before 10 p.m. (2100 GMT), and would focus in coming days “on the big challenges facing the country for the future: how we guide the economy through the downturn and strengthen it for the future; how we push ahead with reform of and investment in our public services; and how we renew trust in our democracy and Parliament.”
