Brown to launch Labour fightback

Prime Minister Gordon Brown is hoping to reclaim the political initiative at his first news conference of the year after a bruising end to 2007 saw Labour's ratings plummet.One poll showed Labour narrowing the Tory lead to just four points compared with an eight-point gap last month but the reduction is almost entirely due to a surge in support for the Liberal Democrats following the election of new leader Nick Clegg.Mr Brown has also seen his own personal leadership rating fall behind Tory leader David Cameron.There was a further blow for the Prime Minister with a report that Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain will be forced to admit he received tens of thousands of pounds in undeclared donations to his Labour deputy leadership campaign.In an attempt to generate some political momentum, ministers are gearing up for a series of major policy announcements - including the expected go ahead for a new generation of nuclear power stations later this week.But while they hope they have put the worst of last year's troubles behind them, they know that they face a tough 12 months ahead.Mr Brown has warned of a difficult year for the economy in the wake of the global "credit crunch" triggered by the collapse of the sub prime credit market.He is also squaring up for an acrimonious battle with the unions as he attempts to keep a lid on inflation by reining in public pay settlements while food and energy prices soar.The future of Northern Rock - propped up by more than £20 billion in loans from the taxpayer - remains unclear and there are still questions over the loss of HM Revenue and Customs child benefit database.In Parliament, the Government faces an uphill struggle to push through its plans to extend the time terrorist suspects can be held without charge beyond the current 28-day limit.And senior Labour figures are also braced for the outcome of the Scotland Yard inquiry into the proxy donor scandal.© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.

» More on this story... «

ITN | January 8, 2008

Tags:. .brown. .tens. .peter. .conference. .energy