Brown stakes claim to be UK's new Prime Minister

Manchester (England), Sept 25: Finance Minister Gordon Brown will stake his claim to be Britain's next prime minister today, saying the ruling Labour Party must adapt to confront the challenges of the next decade.

Brown's speech to the Labour Party's annual conference today is seen as crucial to re-establishing his credentials to succeed Prime Minister Tony Blair, after a Labour revolt against Blair led to the questioning of Brown's fitness for the job.

In his speech, Brown will make clear that he would keep ''New Labour'' as a reformist, centrist party and prevent it slipping back to old left-wing policies.

''The next 10 years will be even more demanding. Because the challenges are quite different, the programme for governing will be different, and as the tasks of government change, the way we govern must change too, not just new policies but a new politics too,'' Brown will say, according to excerpts of his speech released last night.

''New Labour will never retreat but positively entrench our position in the centre ground -- in the mainstream as the party of reform.'' Brown's 10-year vision will fuel speculation that his ambition is to rule for as long as Blair, who has been in power for nine years but has said he will not seek a fourth term.

Blair, who delivers his farewell speech to the conference tomorrow, has angered many Labour members with his backing for the US-led war on Iraq, his policies in the West Asia and his pro-market reforms of public services.

Brown is reported to have been working for days on his conference speech, one of the most important of his career.

Commentators say he must show he has the personality and vision to lead Labour after party infighting this month undermined the once rock-solid assumption that the job was his.

Blair was forced to concede that he would step down within a year after a group of Labour legislators demanded he quit.

STINGING ATTACK

Brown has denied he had anything to do with what the press has dubbed an ''attempted coup'' against Blair but the episode led a former cabinet minister, Charles Clarke, to launch a stinging assault on Brown, calling him a ''control freak''.

It made it more likely that a heavyweight contender could emerge to fight Brown for the party leadership.

If Brown becomes Labour's next leader, he could face a tough challenge from the opposition Conservatives at the next general election, expected in 2009.

The Conservatives lead in the opinion polls and a recent survey found Britons thought new Conservative leader David Cameron had more potential as a prime minister than Brown.

Brown will say the renewal of New Labour must be built on a flexible economy and Britain must be a global leader in education.

Blair, attending his last party conference as leader, urged the Labour Party in a BBC interview yesterday to stop squabbling over who would succeed him and focus on policy.

Despite his pleas, the frenzy over the leadership grew as he declined to name his exit date or repeat his earlier endorsement of Brown as his successor.

REUTERS

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