27 June 2007
Dear Gordon
Warmest congratulations on your election as Leader of the Labour Party and appointment as Prime Minister.
When we met last month, I explained that I had decided, for personal reasons, to stand down from government. While I very much appreciate your offer for me to remain in Cabinet, I feel that this is the right moment for me to give more time to my constituency and my family - something my family would say is long overdue!
I will always be grateful to you and Tony for appointing me to my first post in government as Economic Secretary to the Treasury, where I introduced the climate change levy - our first major environmental tax - and reformed tax incentives for charitable giving.
In my six years at the Department of Trade and Industry, I was grateful for the opportunity to become the longest-serving Secretary of State for some fifty years, working with business and trade union leaders to put in place a modern industrial policy and leading the UK delegation as we launched the Doha Development Round. At the DTI, and as Cabinet Minister for Women, I am particularly proud of introducing the flexible working laws that have helped nearly a million parents and have now been extended to older workers and carers.
This Sunday, England will go smoke-free - the biggest step forward for public health in a generation, thanks to our Health Act 2006. Thank you too for all your support throughout the difficult, but essential, work of bringing the NHS from deficit to surplus, consolidating essential reforms and establishing a fair and transparent financial system for the NHS that will ensure even better value for patients in future.
As we discussed, I would welcome the opportunity to play a different role, particularly on European and international issues. It has been a great privilege to serve for the last nine years of this Labour government and I look forward, of course, to giving you my wholehearted support from the backbenches.
PATRICIA HEWITT
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