Gordon Brown defiant on unpopular policy moves

Published on Thursday 15 May 2008 14:29

PRIME Minister Gordon Brown today said he was determined to continue taking decisions in the long-term interests of the country, even if they proved unpopular in the short term.

Mr Brown shrugged off suggestions that he may be forced out of his position by growing unease on the Labour benches, insisting that he was the "best-placed" person to lead Britain through a global economic downturn.

He denied he had broken his own sustainable investment rule by borrowing 2.7 billion to pay for a tax cut to compensate the losers from the abolition of the 10p income tax rate, and said injecting the money into the economy could help Britain avoid recession.

The UK was better placed to deal with worldwide recession than it was in the previous downturn under a Conservative government in the early 1990s, because of Labour's record on keeping inflation under control, acting to support the housing market and maintaining low unemployment, he said.