Brown's exit: What the papers say

Gordon Brown yesterday announced his resignation as Prime Minister - but he will not be stepping down for at least five months. "Extraordinary" says the Times, "Sordid" says the Telegraph...

The Times

Britain's government became the subject of an extraordinary bidding war last night after Gordon Brown announced his intention to resign in an audacious attempt to keep Labour in power.

In a three-sided poker game being played out across Westminster, Mr Brown threw his last card, dramatically opening the possibility of a deal with the Liberal Democrats that would dash David Cameron's hopes of making it to Downing Street.

Within hours, the Conservative leader had stepped up his offer to Nick Clegg, inviting him into full coalition with the promise of a referendum on changing the voting system.

The Lib Dem leader now appears certain to be heading into the Cabinet, along with some senior colleagues, by the end of the week, but with the identity of the prime minister in his gift. FULL STORY...

The Telegraph

Gordon Brown has been accused of a "sordid" attempt to keep Labour in power after offering his resignation in return for a coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

On a day of high political drama, Mr Brown seized on David Cameron's failure to secure a pact with Nick Clegg by opening formal talks to agree a so-called "coalition of losers".

In a surprise announcement, the Prime Minister offered to oversee talks between the two parties before stepping down by the time of the Labour conference in September, when a new leader would be chosen by party members.

If accepted, the proposal would mean Mr Brown remaining in Downing Street for another five months and voters being presented with a second unelected prime minister in a row. FULL STORY...

The Independent

Gordon Brown paved the way for a possible coalition between Labour and the Liberal Democrats by announcing his resignation yesterday in an attempt to derail a partnership deal between Nick Clegg and David Cameron.

Mr Brown stunned the political world by saying he would stand down as Labour leader by September but will remain Prime Minister until then if he can negotiate a deal with the Liberal Democrats.

But the bidding war between Labour and the Conservatives for Liberal Democrat backing and the keys to No 10 took another twist late in the day when the Tories made a more generous and "final" offer to Mr Clegg - a referendum on replacing the first-past-the-post system with the alternative vote (AV), in which people list candidates in order of preference. FULL STORY...

The Guardian

The British political landscape was transformed last night as an unbridled bidding war for power led to Gordon Brown proffering his resignation as prime minister in a dramatic attempt to secure Labour a power-sharing government with the Liberal Democrats.

Brown's surprise announcement on the steps of No 10 prompted an extraordinary Tory counter-offer to the Lib Dems: a referendum on the alternative vote electoral system, and a coalition government with seats for Nick Clegg's party in the cabinet. The proposed Tory coalition deal would last at least two parliamentary sessions.

The hurried Tory offer, previously seen as completely beyond the ideological pale for the party, was swallowed by shell-shocked Tory MPs.

Cameron said he would whip a vote in parliament to ensure there was a referendum on the alternative vote, but the Tories would then be free to campaign to keep first past the post in the referendum itself. FULL STORY...