With his popularity sagging in the face of an economic slowdown, Prime Minister Gordon Brown took his Cabinet out of London and into the British heartland on Monday in a bid to show that he can lead the nation back to health.
But as his ministers gathered in Britain’s second city of Birmingham, labour unions warned of strikes and protests in the coming months if the Labour government fails to help struggling workers as recession looms.
Brown — who has plumbed record lows in the opinion polls — issued a rallying call to his beleaguered government, saying Britain can emerge from the global downswing a ”stronger, more secure and fairer country”.
”I think it is right to get around the country, to hear what people are saying, to listen to people’s concerns, but also to be able to answer them,” he said at a car plant in Birmingham.
But as he spoke, union leaders meeting in south-coast Brighton criticised the government’s cap on public-sector pay in the face of rising inflation, and called for tax cuts for low earners and tax hikes for the rich.
Mark Serwotka, leader of the Public and Commercial Services’ Union, which has threatened walkouts by civil servants, told the Trades Union Congress (TUC) annual conference that workers face ”real hardships”.
”We expect our Labour government to get its act together, stop squabbling over the leadership, and seriously address the problems of working people, who feel let down,” added Keith Sonnet, deputy leader of the Unison trade union.
Concern for the future of British jobs grew last week when the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said the British economy will be in recession over the second half of 2008.
In remarks circulated to ministers ahead of Monday’s Cabinet meeting, Brown acknowledged that globalisation presented Britain with new economic, social and technological challenges.
”Meeting this challenge will not be easy and it will not happen overnight. There are no easy or quick answers,” he wrote.
”It requires leadership, squaring up to hard truths, being open with the British people about the choices we face, and making tough decisions on priorities for public spending.”
It was the first time the full Cabinet has met outside London since David Lloyd George was prime minister nearly a century ago, and Brown maintained it was not a stunt.
In his written remarks, Brown — who lost the sight in one eye when he was a teenager and whose daughter, Jennifer, died soon after being born in 2002 — drew on his personal battles to rally the Labour faithful.
”My own response to the great challenges in my own life has been to confront them, resolute in the belief that there would always be something that could be done to confront them,” he said.
”And there always has been. Now, once more, I am confident that we can come through this difficult economic time and meet these challenges a stronger, more secure and fairer country than ever before.”
An opinion poll released over the weekend put Labour 19 percentage points behind the main opposition Conservatives. Less than a year ago, Labour — now in its third straight term in power — held a double-digit lead.
The deterioration in support has prompted speculation that someone may challenge Brown for the top job, but the minister most-often mentioned said on Monday he believed Brown could deliver Labour a fourth successive election win.
”I am absolutely convinced that Gordon can lead us to victory,” Foreign Secretary David Miliband said. ”He has enormous values, drive and vision and I think we are going to prove people wrong.” — AFP
