With Tony Blair stepping down and "Never A Frown With" Gordon Brown set to become the Prime Minster of the UK, you'd expect that there should be moving trucks ready to swoop in on Downing St but the fact of the matter is that Gordon Brown has in fact been living at Number 10 for quite some time.
When Mr Blair took office in 1997 in the wave of Cool Britannia, he found that the house that Maggie Thatcher describer as "the flat above the shop" was too small for his family with three children (it is worth noting that Leo Blair was the first legitimate child born to a serving Prime Minister in over 150 years), so clan Blair took up residence in the house across the street usually reserved for the Second Minister to the Crown, the Chancellor of the Exchequor.
This meant that the Number 11 residence which Gordon Brown would have moved into was occupied, but because Number 10 itself was free he moved in there. It's perhaps a little funny that the two chap living on two side of the same street actually had their offices in each other's house. To be fair, I'm surprised that the Rental and Bond Board didn't look into this for tax evasion.
So this Wednesday when the traditional kissing of the Queen's hand ceremony takes place, Gordon Brown will be going home to Number 10, except for him it will be totally normal. What could be interesting is if he retains his office as Chancellor. Several PMs have done so in the past, so it might be common sense for him to continue in the role concurrently.
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