It has been one of the most speculated about political decisions in recent years, but now former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has dropped a massive hint that he will stand again as an MP next year.
Rumours about the ex-Labour chancellor’sfuture have been bandied about thecorridors of Westminster, with common consensus moving towards the Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath representative stepping down at the 2015 general election.
However, speaking to The Courier before a rally for the Union to a 300-strongaudience at Dundee’s Bonar Hall on Wednesday night, Mr Brown was asked if helping achieve a No vote would be the way he wanted to bow out as an MP or if he intended to fight on in 2015?
He replied: “I’m fighting this referendum debate because I think it’s important for everybody’s children and children’schildren and I’ll continue to fight for my own constituency.”
Mr Brown argued both his native Fife and the city he was addressing havebenefited from being part of the UK.
He cited Rosyth dockyard’s as a “classicexample” but added Fife Council is still having to fight to help youngsters who are unemployed.
He added: “We’ve created 500 apprenticeships but there is still a problem and we need the Labour Party’s bankers’ bonus tax to produce the hundreds of millions of pounds that Scotland needs over five years to get young people back into work.
“Why do we want to break all political links with Britain when you can use both the Scottish resources and the UK resources to solve the problem of youth unemployment?”
There was a familial touch when Mr Brown revealed his children, John and Fraser, were excited about the trip because of work developing a version of thecomputer game sensation Minecraft.
He said: “I would say Dundee is one of the great cities of the future and it is one of the great Scottish cities but it also one of the great British cities and it is a great European city.
“Whereas Dundee used to be identified by jute, jam and journalism, it is now identified by computers, by the clinical sciences and, with the V&A coming, by culture.
“Dundee is making its mark in theindustries and the success stories of the 21st Century. My children are very interestedand are here tonight because they see Dundee as the centre of Minecraft, just as it was the centre of Grand Theft Auto.”