A new phase in Britain’s political history began Tuesday, as Conservative leader David Cameron became prime minister after Gordon Brown’s resignation.

Brown, leader of the Labour Party, tendered his resignation to the queen and thanked his party for all it has done. Queen Elizabeth then invited Cameron to form a government.

The new prime minister then travelled to his new home, Ten Downing.  Flanked by his pregnant wife Samantha, he first thanked Brown.

“Compared with a decade ago,” Cameron began, “this country is more open at home and more compassionate abroad, and that is something we should all be grateful for, and on behalf of the whole country, I would like to pay tribute to the outgoing prime minister for his long record of dedicated public service.”

Brown called that service a “privilege.”

“I have been privileged to learn much about the very best in human nature and a fair amount too about its frailties, including my own,” he said. “Above all, it was a privilege to serve, and yes, I love the job, not for its prestige, its titles and its ceremony, which I do not love at all.  No, I loved this job for its potential to make this country I love, fairer, more tolerant, more green, more democratic, more prosperous and more just.  Truly, a greater Britain.”

Gordon and Sarah Brown are normally protective of their children’s privacy, but they made an exception today, allowing a photo opportunity with their two young sons.  It was a rare look at Brown with his family, holding hands and kissing his boys on the head, as he left the prime minister’s residence for the last time.  He said that as much as he loved his job as head of government, his number one job was taking care of his family.

The days of political chaos and uncertainty that followed the May 6 elections were a result of what is called a hung Parliament.  It’s an extremely rare occurrence here, when no one party wins a majority of seats in Parliament, and as such, there is no clear winner, or prime minister.

The realistic option was to form a coalition government.  Both Labour and the Conservatives attempted to do that.  But Labour’s talks with the third party, the Liberal Democrats, broke down today.  Cameron said tonight he aims to form a “proper and full” coalition government with the Lib Dems.  That party has yet to formalize the deal, but by the end of the day, top members of the Liberal Democrats said they were very close to agreeing on the details of such an arrangement.

It is a partnership that many thought seemed unlikely and unworkable, because the parties are far apart on the political spectrum.  But the entire political landscape has over the years coalesced more around the center.  And Cameron says he believes a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition will make sense for Britain.

“I believe that is the right way to provide this country with the strong, the stable, the good and decent government that I think we need so badly,” Cameron said.

He went on, “One of the tasks we clearly have is to rebuild trust in our political system.  Yes, that’s about cleaning up expenses, yes, that’s about reforming Parliament, and yes, it’s about making sure people are in control and that the politicians are always their servants and never their masters.”

One of Cameron’s big ideas, is making society more responsible, asking less, giving more.  The details of that grand plan has yet to be revealed.  In the meantime, the details of putting this new and highly unusual new government together are well under way.