Gordon Brown Biography

Outside No 10 Downing Street on his first day as Prime Minister:
“Let the work of change begin.’’

On family life:
“I just love being a dad. It's the most important thing you do and it's the best thing that's ever happened to me.’’

On the four operations he endured on his detached retina:
“It was a living torture.’’

Descriptions from former PM Tony Blair:
“Gordon Brown is the ‘great clunking fist’. He's got what it takes to lead the Labour party and the country. He's an extraordinary talent, perhaps the most successful chancellor in our history.’’

Described by Blair’s former spin doctor Alastair Campbell as: “psychologically flawed.’’