Chancellor of the Exchequer,

Brown's ten years and two months as Chancellor of the Exchequer made him the longest-serving Chancellor in modern history.

The Prime Minister's website singles out three achievements in particular from Brown's decade as Chancellor: presiding over "the longest ever period of growth", making the Bank of England independent and delivering an agreement on poverty and climate change at the G8 summit in 2005. However, critics of Brown's record as Chancellor point out that he was fortunate to inherit a strong economy from the Conservatives.