<P> Brown's government introduced a number of fiscal policies to help keep the British economy afloat during the financial crisis which occurred throughout the latter part of the 2000s (decade) and early 2010, although the United Kingdom saw a dramatic increase in its national debt . Unemployment soared through 2008 as the recession set in, and Labour standings in the opinion polls plummeted as the Conservatives became ascendant . </P> <P> Several major banks were nationalised after falling into financial difficulties, while large amounts of money were pumped into the economy to encourage spending . Brown was also press ganged into giving Gurkhas settlement rights in Britain by the actress and campaigner Joanna Lumley and attracted criticism for its handling of the release of Abdelbaset Al Megrahi, the only person to have been convicted over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing . </P> <P> Further European integration was introduced under the Labour governments after 1997, including the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) and the Treaty of Nice (2001). The Treaty of Lisbon (2007) introduced many further changes . Prominent changes included more qualified majority voting in the Council of Ministers, increased involvement of the European Parliament in the legislative process through extended codecision with the Council of Ministers, eliminating the pillar system established by the Maastricht Treaty of the early 1990s and the creation of a President of the European Council with a term of two and a half years and a High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to present a united position on EU policies . The Treaty of Lisbon will also make the Union's human rights charter, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, legally binding . The Lisbon Treaty also leads to an increase in the voting weight of the UK in the Council of the European Union from 8.4% to 12.4% . In July 2008 the Labour government under Gordon Brown approved the treaty . </P> <P> Initially, during the first four months of his premiership, Brown enjoyed a solid lead in the polls . His popularity amongst the public may be due to his handling of numerous serious events during his first few weeks as Prime Minister, including two attempted terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow at the end of June . However, between the end of 2007 and September 2008, his popularity had fallen significantly, with two contributing factors believed to be his perceived change of mind over plans to call a snap general election in October 2007, and his handling of the 10p tax rate cut in 2008, which led to allegations of weakness and dithering . His unpopularity led eight labour MPs to call for a leadership contest in September 2008, less than 15 months into his premiership . The threat of a leadership contest receded due to his perceived strong handling of the global financial crisis in October, but his popularity hit an all - time low, and his position became increasingly under threat after the May 2009 expenses scandal and Labour's poor results in the 2009 Local and European elections . Brown's cabinet began to rebel with several key resignations in the run up to local elections in June 2009 . </P>

How many years has it been since 1940