Brown Vows To Lead Britain Through Economic Slowdown

LONDON — Gordon Brown vowed to fight on as prime minister, saying he is the best person to lead Britain through a worsening economic slowdown.

"The right thing to do is continue to do the job I'm doing," Mr. Brown told the British Broadcasting Corp. "We've got to steer the economy through these difficult times. I've done it before and I'm going to do it again."

Mr. Brown used a round of press appearances today to defend his record as finance minister for a decade and pledge support for Britons who are worried about the economy and falling house prices. His Labour Party slumped to its worst local-election performance since the 1970s this month and trails behind the Conservatives in opinion polls by as much as 26 points.

"I'm in the right position to deal with the problems we're facing now," Mr. Brown told his monthly press conference in London. "Because of my experience I'm in a good position to deal with these issues."

The fight-back came a day after the Bank of England Governor, Mervyn King, gave his bleakest assessment of the economy yet and indicated record food and energy prices limit the scope for further interest-rate cuts.

Brown, who took over from Prime Minister Blair in June, said he intends to see through the bills he announced yesterday for the last full year of legislation before the deadline for the next general election.

The program, starting in November, included plans to help people struggling to afford a home and extend flexible work patterns. Mr. Brown has until mid-2010 at the latest to hold an election.

Mr. Brown has presided over a collapse in support for Labour since October, when he allowed speculation about an early election to grow, only to rule one out when polls turned against him.

In recent weeks, Mr. Brown has come under fire for a tax change that left 5.3 million of the poorest households worse off, a move cited by voters when they pushed Labour into the third place with just 24% of the vote in local elections May 1.

With Labour facing the potential loss of a safe seat in Parliament at a by-election next week, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling on May 13 promised to cut $233 from the annual tax bills of 22 million people to end a revolt over the elimination of the lowest 10% tax rate and boost the economy.