Brown honoured for world poverty work

from The Guardian

The chancellor, Gordon Brown, and musician Bob Geldof are to be honoured for their work in tackling world poverty, it was announced today.

They are among five people receiving honorary degrees from Newcastle University on Monday to mark the work of the Make Poverty History campaign.

Mr Brown will receive an honorary doctor of civil law degree from the Tory politician Chris Patten, the university's chancellor.

Lord Patten, who was a member of the Conservative cabinet and then governor of Hong Kong, is also chancellor of Oxford where Mr Brown is still resented for his criticism over Laura Spence, a comprehensive school student rejected by Magdalen College.

He and Live8 organiser Mr Geldof will be honoured alongside political economist Susan George, former president of Tanzania Benjamin William Mkapa and David Golding, of Make Poverty History North East, in a ceremony at the Sage Gateshead music centre.

The chancellor was instrumental in getting the G8 countries to agree a debt relief package at Gleneagles in 2005 for some of the world's poorest countries.

As the politicians met in Scotland, Geldof and U2 front man, Bono, organised the Live8 concerts, which formed part of the Make Poverty History campaign.

Professor Christopher Edwards, vice-chancellor of Newcastle University, said: "The university is delighted that Gordon Brown has accepted our invitation to receive an honorary degree.

"Ordinarily, the university does not award honorary degrees to serving politicians, but senate has made an exception in this case because of the enormous personal contribution Gordon Brown has made to the campaign designed to increase international aid and eliminate the debt owed by the world's poorest nations."

The news of Mr Brown's honorary degree comes on the day it emerged that he intends to make free universal education one of the two pillars of Labour's foreign policy if he becomes prime minister later this year - the other pillar being climate change.

Writing in the Guardian, he said "education could be the greatest gift" the rich world could give to the poorest countries.