What they are saying about Gordon Brown quitting

Tory press furious at Nick Clegg’s decision to ‘play footsie’ with Labour

Gordon Brown

Last night's decision by Gordon Brown to stand down as leader of the Labour party in order to facilitate a governing coalition of Labour and the Liberal Democrats has unleashed a torrent of media comment overnight - including some very angry words from the Conservative-supporting press. "A squalid day for democracy," shouted the Daily Mail’s front page this morning, and that was before its furious columnists leapt on their soap-boxes.

Senior Tories like William Hague and Michael Gove have remained relatively calm about Nick Clegg discussing with the Tories and Labour simultaneously what they might offer in return for Lib Dem support. However, they are presumably seething underneath. As the Mole reported last night, Tory grandee Lord Heseltine, not bound by any diplomatic niceties, described Brown's move as "politics at its most sordid". He told Sky News: "Don't let's talk about national interest or dignity. This is politics at its most sordid."

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Jack Bremer is a London-based reporter, attached to The Week.co.uk. He has reported regularly from the United States and France.