Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, has reshuffled his government and refused to resign amid a leadership crisis sparked by the resignation of several of his cabinet ministers.

Brown had to wait 13 years to get the top job, and now faces the prospect of being one of the shortest-serving prime ministers in modern British history. 

Faced with a recession, his own dwindling popularity, the current expenses scandal, and for some the ultimate fact that he simply ascended to the job and never faced his people, Brown is now dealing with mass resignations and revolt within his own party, all of which threaten to bring down the Labour government.

Brown said he had no plans to step aside as prime minister despite the expenses scandal and said that he would introduce a regulatory body to supervise politicians' expenses.
 
Why has this scandal taken the Brown government and politicians from across the spectrum to the political brink? And how long can one man hang on when his ministers are resigning, his government is crumbling, and public opinion is increasingly turning against him? 

Presenter Kamahl Santamaria is joined by Jeremy Corbyn, a Labour member of parliament, Anthony Howard, a veteran political commentator, and Dan Hannan, a member of the European parliament from the UK's Conservative party and author of The Plan: Twelve Months to Renew Britain.

This episode of Inside Story aired from Sunday, June 7, 2009.