For Mr Dear Gordon Brown and Family, because I know Sarah Brown may lurk, a support thread

[expatinscotland]

although I can't dictate that, I hope that is how it turns out.

I for one will miss you. I and my family will be sad to see you go. They've painted not just the town but most of the country red for you!

I think your heart was in the right place, though I did not always, and I think you really cared, even about people like us, in the Highlands of Scotland.

I hope when it's all over, that you and your family come home to Fife and enjoy a retirement.

We don't live in the East anymore, and it will all I can do to keep us here for now. But my husband and my elder two are from the East in Edinburgh, and all their family from Fife and the Perthshire Highlands, who accepted me, a foreigner, as their own when they were under no obligation to do so.

You are so welcome up here.

The Queen Mother, daughter of the Earl Strathmore said, 'Duty is the rent you pay on life.'

You took that to heart, and regardless of what others may say, some of us believe that, maybe even the Queen!

Best of luck to you and yours and just to know, you are not without your supporters, Mr Brown (I think that is how he is called but forgive me if not).

Well done. And, as Churchill said, 'Keep b*ggering on.'

I know this is only Mumsnet at the end of the day, and is probably preposterous to think that GB would actually read this and it would matter, but I really hope that he and Sarah do actually read this.

They must get such a skewed idea of what the electorate is like at times. We are all normal people on this thread. I would hope that he would feel that we in some way represent a significant tranche of UK society who really does respect what he is like as a politician and sees that what he has achieved has been a success.

I am very upset to see him gone.

Hear hear

Very sorry to see you go. Wishing you and your family all the best for the future.

So dignified and moral. So rare. So sad that you cannot stay around and do more good. You really cared because you understood. You could empathise because you had seen and experienced.

Integrity has been mentioned before but it seems such an elusive quality in politics these days. Why is it that those who have it never manage to stay around? Why is that? Don't they see it? Or are they all too concerned with 'self' to notice. History will be kind to you. You didn't deserve the hounding you received.

I love Fife. Best wishes.

Dear Mr Brown

Thank you for all you have done for our country. I am furious with the way you have been treated by the media. I will never forget the speech you gave to CitizensUK.

My best wishes to you and Sarah and your boys for the future.

Dear Mr Brown

Everyone above has been so eloquent and I can only endorse what they've said. You're a man of huge integrity, passion and commitment, and someone I've always felt was on the side of the poor, the weak and the vulnerable. At a time when politics seemed to be more about spin than anything else, you got on with the job and pushed through measures that actually made a difference to people's lives - I know, because I benefited from them. After the grim Thatcher years, I can't tell you how wonderful it was to discover that government could be a force for good. All the other politicians are lightweights compared to you. You will be remembered as the star of the Labour years.

The way the media has hounded you has been utterly shameful but I so respect the way you carried on regardless. Just remember, the best revenge is to live well - though I'm sure you're too high-minded to think about revenge.

Sarah Brown, I feel you deserve to be known as something other than a politician's wife but having said that, you've set a fantastic example. Definitely my fave.

I wish you and your family a wonderfully happy life away from all the media madness.

Oh, nearly forgot - Citizens UK speech: I'm going to make my children sit down and watch it every day until they're ready to go and change the world (come to think of it, me too).

I echo everything that's already been said on this thread. I think you are moral and honourable, and I'm sure that in years to come, you will be held up as a great leader in difficult times.

Take some time to enjoy family life and being a constituency MP before deciding on your next move.

hear hear.

I am not a Labour supporter however I want to pay tribute to Gordon Brown's integrity and desire to do the job rather than be a celebrity.

By chance (not through any political interest!) when I was in 6th form in 1990, I was in the audience of Question Time when Gordon Brown was on the panel and I remember being struck then by his determination and conviction.

Sarah - you have been a model PM wife. I will miss you. You have always been supportive of your DH and remained v dignified. You are a true role model.

Gordon - the speech you just gave outside No10 was fantastic and so heartfelt it brought a tear to my eye.

I hope you both have much happiness in the future and your two boys should be proud to have the two of you as parents - enjoy your future family life together.

Lovely thread!

I think you're a PM outside his time. Had you been in office before the advent of 24h news and huge media spotlight, you'd have done so much better. It's a shame that being photogenic has replaced being principled.

I will remember you as a man of great dignity and passion who cared deeply about the most vurnerable in our society. Many, many people in this country owe you a lot.

You have a lovely family; beautiful boys. Take a little time to enjoy them.

Good luck.

I'd also like to wish you and your family all the best for the future.

I hope that when they write your name in the history books they remember the overwhelming number of good things which you have done in your career, and don't dwell on the very small number of mistakes.

Can someone link this thread to sarah's Twitter so she sees it?

Just watched your speech, and it was so sad. You have two gorgeous boys, i hope you enjoy the time you now have with them. Thank you for my local sure start centre and my tax credits, which have made my first experience as a mum manageable!

I am pissed off at the stupidity of all who fell for Cameron's patter and dreading his premiership.
You were a man of integrity and substance and will be sorely missed.
I hope you relish your time with your wife and boys and realise the high esteem in which we hold you.

if mumsnet put this on 'Discussions of the Day' then it might be more likely to be seen by Sarah or someone who can tell her about it

Mr Brown

I too would like to echo all the sentiments on this thread. You have shown yourself to be a force for good, you have obvious moral integrity where others fail, and you have striven to make Britain a better place for all. On a personal note, thank you for your particular attention to respite care for disabled children.

Thank you for your determined work for this country and I wish you much enjoyment in the number one job as husband and father, which you so obviously love and deserve.

Mr Brown,

There are many people who don't understand why you got such a hard time when you did do so much good... I hope that as time goes on people will remember this good. I feel like you were so much better than Tony Blair.

Our family works really hard, I am on maternity leave right now and I received my tax credits for the first time today and it has helped my family so much - although they will now be taken away. Thank you for that and all the help that you gave us.

I will never forget seeing you walk away from Downing Street. Really sad. Enjoy your family - You are a great man.

I'm so glad that this thread has been started.

I've just watched Gordon Brown's speech and I feel genuinely sad. I do feel that he is a person of great integrity and morality and that this is something that is no longer valued. I think that he has been treated in the most appalling way by the media. I feel that in some ways, it must be a huge relief to leave the pressure of politics.

I am sure that even though this is an extremely difficult time, life will be much better outside the horrible world of modern politics.

I would like to wish you all best wishes and much happiness in the future.

very sad to see you go Mr B. Have a well earned break with your lovely family.

(i cried a bit at your resignation speech)

good luck

So very sad to see you go Mr Brown, it was a very moving and dignified speech, good luck with what ever you decide to do in the future

Gordon's speech at the Manchester Rally set me crying. Once the jokes stopped and the passion and anger came through it was such a brilliant piece of public speaking that came across as coming from the soul of the man. In other circumstances it could have been a turning point in Labour's election campaign, but by then it felt like a statement of legacy. I don't think anyone could have believed in a Labour victory at that stage, and because of all those incredibly fundamental reasons that speech lists, that was incredibly sad.

Good thread. I also think it's disgusting that appearance, spin and PR should win.
I really think GB was doing a good job in adverse circumstances.

Mr Brown,

I didn't like you much to be honest but I think at the end when it really mattered you did well and I respect you a lot for that.

I cannot fault the vocal support you have given to our troops and I think you are an honest man, with your moral compass, who was PM at the wrong time. You had a lot to cope with and although I may not always agree with what you did you were committed and straightforward in your actions. You also called a spade a spade, or a bigot a bigot, and that is something we will miss.

You have really adorable children and a wonderful, supportive wife who does a lot of good work herself and deserves recognition for that. I wish you and them all the best.

You've done your best for this country and always acted with integrity. A lot has changed in this country for the better, and I just hope it isn't all undermined now. I hope you enjoy your time with your family now, and that your boys enjoy having their dad back for longer!

Thank you so much for trying to create a fairer society and thanks also for recognising many different types of family and races as part of the fabric of Britan
And Sarah always looks fabulous!

I really hope this gets to the Browns! You deserve all these wonderful comments. Best wishes for the future.