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Gordon Brown: The Nixon of British politics or the man who saved the Union? Twitter reacts to former Prime Minister's Commons farewell

He pledged to go on fighting to keep Scotland in the UK

Matt Dathan
Thursday 26 March 2015 17:56 GMT
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Gordon Brown makes his valedictory speech in the House of Commons (PA)
Gordon Brown makes his valedictory speech in the House of Commons (PA)

Gordon Brown bid farewell to the House of Commons today and in his passionate valedictory speech he pledged to "fight, struggle, do battle and fight and fight again" for Scotland to remain part of the United Kingdom.

He won obvious plaudits from his loyal followers but it was hardly the same send-off that Tony Blair received when MPs gave him a standing ovation.

It was all rather dull compared to his predecessor's departure though:

The final appearance from the former Prime Minister, who only served three years in Downing Street, even drew comparisons to the impeached Richard Nixon, the only US President to resign from office.

And Mr Brown's poor attendance record in his final five years in Parliament was pointed out by quite a few, including this Ukipper:

Labour bigwigs who sat in the chamber to support their former leader's final Commons appearance included Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy, Tessa Jowell and front-benchers Yvette Cooper, Michael Dugher and Ed Balls, who sat next to his old master.

The pair can be overheard saying "2.5, 1.5, 4.7. That's the aim":

Not everyone is coping too well with the thought that Gordon Brown will never appear in the Commons ever again. His fan club was out in full force to give him a good send off on Twitter:

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