Gordon Brown is sacrificing himself in a last-ditch attempt to keep his floundering Labour party in power after an underwhelming performance in Britain’s national election. His resignation, promised to come by September at the latest, is an attempt to woo the third place Liberal Democrats, who essentially hold the balance of power after the first place Conservatives failed to win a majority of seats. Both front running parties need Nick Clegg’s Liberals in order to form a coalition government, and Brown’s resignation, which the Liberal’s said would bring them to the negotiating table, is heating up the fight to secure the allegiance, with the Tories almost immediately putting forward a counter offer— a referendum on electoral reform, Clegg’s key demand in negotiations. “I don’t think a prolonged period of uncertainty is a good thing,” said Clegg. “But I hope people will equally understand that it would be better to get the decision right rather than rushing into something which won’t stand the test of time.”