Speaking after announcing his new Cabinet, Gordon Brown MP, Labour's Prime Minister, said:

"The elections yesterday were a painful defeat for Labour. Too  many good people doing so much good for their communities    and constituencies have lost through no fault  of their own and I want to thank them for their public service as well as congratulate all those who’ve won elections.

"Since the global economic crisis first hit Britain, I never doubted how difficult it would be. Not just for our party but more important  for our country. It’s indeed a testing time.

"An economic crisis and now a parliamentary crisis for MPs is a test of everyone’s resilience. Mine, the government’s and the country’s. It demands that we continue making the very difficult decisions but also it requires deep reserves of strength when things are difficult.

"As we have responded to the economic crisis by taking control of our banks, aggressively fighting repossessions and preventing higher unemployment, so too we are wrestling today with stabilising and supporting Britain’s car industry and building the foundations for Britain’s prosperity and we responded on the expenses crisis by taking steps to reform the system and of course we have a record that we are proud of in schools, in hospitals, in fighting crime. But the task in front of us is clear.

"First to clean up politics, secondly to push forward with our economic recovery and third to ensure the best opportunities for people through reformed public services that are tailored and far more responsive to people’s needs."


You can view the new Cabinet in full here