Brown To Quit Commons 'On A High'

Former prime minister Gordon Brown is to announce that he is standing down as an MP, according to reports.

Mr Brown, 63, will soon confirm that he will quit at the general election in May, after playing a key role in the Scottish independence referendum campaign, sources have said.

The Labour MP has focused on charity work and his role as United Nations special envoy for global education since his resignation as prime minister in 2010.

An ally told the Sunday Mirror newspaper: Gordon has confirmed to friends that he will stand down at the election in May.

He wants to go out on a high after effectively salvaging the campaign to keep the UK together in September. He will focus on his charity work.''

Mr Brown was first elected to Parliament in 1983 and was prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and chancellor from 1997 to 2007.

His last-minute intervention in the referendum debate was widely credited with helping the pro-union Better Together campaign to victory.

A timetable he championed for devolving more powers to Scotland was later endorsed by the three UK party leaders in their vow for greater autonomy for the Scottish Parliament in the event of a No vote.

A series of impassioned speeches, culminating in an eve of poll rallying cry in Glasgow, was also widely praised.

Mr Brown had been tipped to stand for the Scottish Labour leadership following the shock resignation of Johann Lamont last month, but instead made clear he had no intention of returning to front-line politics.

He won the Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath seat with a majority of more than 23,000 in the last election.

Former Labour chancellor Alistair Darling has also announced that he is to stand down as an MP at the next general election in the wake of the referendum.