United Kingdom
Brown says will not step down despite bad polls
By Adrian Croft
Jun 1, 2009, 13:54

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Monday he would not step down despite polls showing Labour could slump to a humiliating third place in European elections this week.

Brown, struggling to assert his authority after the MPs' expenses scandal, also said he had a duty to clean up the system and to get Britain through a severe recession before he called a national election.

"I'm staying on to do the job I need to do," Brown said in an interview with BBC radio when he asked if he could be persuaded to step down for the sake of his party.

The measures the government was taking to get Britain out of its worst recession since World War Two were "starting to have some effect," he said.

Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, known as a staunch ally of Brown's predecessor Tony Blair, gave Brown his support.

"He's made the right calls, he's shown the right judgement on these issues and he has the full backing of the cabinet and the Labour party behind him," Mandelson told Sky News.

Brown's government has been battered by a row over politicians' expenses and an economic slump which has led to a sharp rise in unemployment and a slump in house prices.

Voters are furious that many MPs have apparently milked the expenses system, claiming taxpayer funds to pay for everything from porn films to cleaning their swimming pools, at a time when ordinary people are having to scrimp.

All the main parties are involved but voters look set to punish Labour at European Parliament and local elections on Thursday.

Two weekend polls suggested Labour could slip to an embarrassing third place in the European election.

An ICM poll in the Sunday Telegraph found only 17 percent of voters planned to vote Labour, behind the Conservatives on 29 percent and the Liberal Democrats on 20 percent.

A poll for the Times on Saturday suggested Labour could slump to third place in the European election, behind the Conservatives and the UK Independence Party.

The spotlight in the expenses scandal turned on Monday to Chancellor Alistair Darling.

The Daily Telegraph, which has obtained records of MPs' expenses and published them over the last few weeks, reported on Monday that Darling had reclaimed a service charge on a London flat he let to tenants while also claiming living expenses for another home provided free by the government.

Darling denied the report, saying he was living in the flat when he claimed the service charge. He promised to repay the charge for the last few months of 2007 when he had moved out.

The Liberal Democrats have called on Darling to resign and there has been speculation Brown could move him in a cabinet reshuffle expected soon after Thursday's election.

Conservative leader David Cameron says the best way to clean up the system is to hold an immediate national election.

But Brown rebuffed those calls. "I think we have a duty before we go to an election to show the country that ... the system has been cleaned up," he said.

"I have got a responsibility to complete the work which is taking Britain out of the worst economic downturn we've had for years."

He announced he would set up a "National Council for Democratic Renewal," inviting people from outside the political system to help reform it.

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