Brown 'facing the storm'

2008-09-22 09:46

Katherine Haddon

Manchester - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown admitted on Sunday he could do better as he seeks to fend off rebels opposed to his leadership at the ruling Labour Party's annual conference.

But he added voters would not forgive him and his government if they decided to "bail out" of tackling the current economic uncertainty following a week of extraordinary events on world money markets.

Brown, who was Tony Blair's finance minister for 10 years, argued that he had the "wisdom" and "judgment" to deal with the turmoil better than the main opposition Conservatives, who opinion polls place well ahead of Labour.

"I want to do better, obviously I always want to do better, my whole ethos, my school motto was 'I will try my utmost', I want to do better always," Brown told BBC television.

"When you have an international financial crisis, I happen to think I'm better prepared to deal with that than perhaps anyone."

The prime minister, who took over in June 2007, said he was working with other world leaders including US President George W Bush to establish international rules to regulate the financial system more tightly.

'I think all the Cabinet and the government are of the same mind'

However, 11 company bosses condemned the government's financial policy in a letter to the Financial Times, calling for a "new direction", with a focus on simpler taxes and less national debt, to strengthen the British economy.

Asked about pressure for a change of Labour leader, Brown indicated he had no intention of stepping down and quoted author Joseph Conrad.

"The best way to deal with that storm is, he said, facing it, facing it. I think all the Cabinet and the government are of the same mind," he said.

"We would be letting people down if suddenly we walked away and said 'we bail out'. What we do is we keep doing what is right for this country."

When questioned about whether he would still be premier at the end of the year, Brown said: "Yes, of course."

Labour is putting on a unified face at its five-day conference in Manchester, north-west England, with senior ministers rallying around Brown despite persistent questions about how long he can stay in the job. His keynote speech is on Tuesday.

'Putting on a good face'

This month, four lawmakers who spoke against him were forced out of their junior government jobs and 12 declared their support for a leadership contest.

The Conservatives are set to sweep Labour aside at the next election, which must be held by mid-2010, with a parliamentary majority of 146, according to an Observer newspaper/PoliticsHome.com opinion poll published on Sunday.

A second YouGov/Sunday Times poll of Labour members said 60% believe the party cannot win a general election under Brown and made Foreign Secretary David Miliband the favourite to take over.

Although Miliband said on Saturday now was not the time for a leadership election, he gave two major newspaper interviews focusing on his family and personality, fuelling speculation about his long-term ambitions.

In a further sign of opposition to Brown, former home secretary Charles Clarke, a prominent Brown critic, again called for the premier to go.

"I am very sceptical personally about his ability to pull it around and therefore I think he probably should stand down," he told BBC television.

And lawmaker Barry Gardiner, who left his job as Brown's forestry envoy when he called for a leadership contest, said the conference show of unity was like a family "putting on a good face" at Christmas despite underlying problems.

- AFP