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Britain's Houses of Parliament are seen across the river Thames in London - Source: Reuters -
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A third senior minister quit the British government, calling on
Prime Minister Gordon Brown to quit to improve his party's chances
at a general election due with a year.
Following is the text of Work and Pensions Secretary James
Purnell's resignation letter to Brown as published by The Times
newspaper's website.
Dear Gordon
We both love the Labour Party. I have worked for it for twenty
years and you for far longer. We know we owe it everything and it
owes us nothing.
I owe it to our Party to say what I believe, no matter how hard
that may be. I now believe your continued leadership makes a
Conservative victory more not less likely.
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.
We therefore owe it to our country to give it a real choice. We
need to show that we are prepared to fight to be a credible
government and have the courage to offer an alternative
future.
I am therefore calling on you to stand aside to give our party a
fighting chance of winning.
The party was here long before us, and we want it to be here long
after we have gone. We must do the right thing by it.
I am not seeking the leadership, nor acting with anyone else. My
actions are my own considered view, nothing more. If the consensus
is that you should continue, then I will support the government
loyally from the backbenches. But I do believe that this question
now needs to be put.
Thank you for giving me the privilege of serving,
Yours
James Purnell
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