By Adrian Croft
LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a pitch for the support of the middle classes in Britain's forthcoming election on Saturday, signalling his party will not swing to the left to try to overtake opposition Conservatives.
In a campaign-style speech, Brown said his ruling Labour Party offered help to a middle class squeezed by recession while the Conservatives would cut their services and benefits.
Brown portrayed Labour as the party of aspiration while he said the centre-right Conservatives -- who want urgent action to cut Britain's 178 billion pound ($291 billion) public deficit -- 'planned a raid on the quality of life of our middle class'.
Opinion polls show the Conservatives with a double-digit lead before an election that Brown must call by June.
Middle-class votes helped Labour, reinvented as the centrist New Labour, win three successive elections. But polls show many in the middle classes are turning their backs on Labour and backing the Conservatives.
'I believe that the defining mission of New Labour in the coming decade should be nothing less than to unleash a wave of social mobility...,' Brown said in a speech to the Fabian Society, a centre-left thinktank.
His pledge to put social mobility at the heart of the election campaign comes after a 2009 government-commissioned report showed social barriers to entry to top professions such as law and medicine remained high after 13 years of Labour rule.
'MANIFESTO FOR THE MIDDLE'
Proudly describing his own middle-class roots, Brown said, 'It is only Labour that offers a manifesto for the middle -- only Labour that owns the progressive centre ground.'
Brown was accused of planning a 'class-war' election strategy and of appealing to Labour's traditional working-class voters when he accused the Conservatives last month of dreaming up their tax policy 'on the playing fields of Eton'.
The comment was a jibe at the privileged background of Conservative leader David Cameron who was educated at Eton, one of Britain's top private schools, and Oxford University.
Signalling that Labour will not just seek to appeal to its core left-wing voters, Brown pledged to rebuild the New Labour centrist coalition that brought past election success.
'We have governed as New Labour and now we will campaign as New Labour,' he said.
Since taking over from Tony Blair as prime minister in 2007, Brown has faced several rebellions against his leadership as Labour's popularity slumped during the deep recession.
His authority was weakened further this month when two former cabinet ministers called for a secret ballot to decide if he should lead the party into the election.
The failed coup was seen as increasing the influence of Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, a key New Labour figure.
Mandelson told the conference that the failed plot had had a 'silver lining'. 'The leadership issue is now resolved in everyone's eyes. A handful of irreconcilables to Gordon (Brown)'s leadership have now snuffed their own candle and gone quiet for good,' he said.
The Conservatives are tipped to win the election but some polls have pointed to a hung parliament. Markets fear an indecisive result that could hinder tough action on the deficit.
(Additional reporting by Matt Falloon; Editing by Louise Ireland) ($1=.6120 Pound) Keywords: BRITAIN BROWN/ (UK bureau, uk.online@reuters.com; +44 207 542 1894) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a pitch for the support of the middle classes in Britain's forthcoming election on Saturday, signalling his party will not swing to the left to try to overtake opposition Conservatives.
In a campaign-style speech, Brown said his ruling Labour Party offered help to a middle class squeezed by recession while the Conservatives would cut their services and benefits.
Brown portrayed Labour as the party of aspiration while he said the centre-right Conservatives -- who want urgent action to cut Britain's 178 billion pound ($291 billion) public deficit -- 'planned a raid on the quality of life of our middle class'.
Opinion polls show the Conservatives with a double-digit lead before an election that Brown must call by June.
Middle-class votes helped Labour, reinvented as the centrist New Labour, win three successive elections. But polls show many in the middle classes are turning their backs on Labour and backing the Conservatives.
'I believe that the defining mission of New Labour in the coming decade should be nothing less than to unleash a wave of social mobility...,' Brown said in a speech to the Fabian Society, a centre-left thinktank.
His pledge to put social mobility at the heart of the election campaign comes after a 2009 government-commissioned report showed social barriers to entry to top professions such as law and medicine remained high after 13 years of Labour rule.
'MANIFESTO FOR THE MIDDLE'
Proudly describing his own middle-class roots, Brown said, 'It is only Labour that offers a manifesto for the middle -- only Labour that owns the progressive centre ground.'
Brown was accused of planning a 'class-war' election strategy and of appealing to Labour's traditional working-class voters when he accused the Conservatives last month of dreaming up their tax policy 'on the playing fields of Eton'.
The comment was a jibe at the privileged background of Conservative leader David Cameron who was educated at Eton, one of Britain's top private schools, and Oxford University.
Signalling that Labour will not just seek to appeal to its core left-wing voters, Brown pledged to rebuild the New Labour centrist coalition that brought past election success.
'We have governed as New Labour and now we will campaign as New Labour,' he said.
Since taking over from Tony Blair as prime minister in 2007, Brown has faced several rebellions against his leadership as Labour's popularity slumped during the deep recession.
His authority was weakened further this month when two former cabinet ministers called for a secret ballot to decide if he should lead the party into the election.
The failed coup was seen as increasing the influence of Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, a key New Labour figure.
Mandelson told the conference that the failed plot had had a 'silver lining'. 'The leadership issue is now resolved in everyone's eyes. A handful of irreconcilables to Gordon (Brown)'s leadership have now snuffed their own candle and gone quiet for good,' he said.
The Conservatives are tipped to win the election but some polls have pointed to a hung parliament. Markets fear an indecisive result that could hinder tough action on the deficit.
(Additional reporting by Matt Falloon; Editing by Louise Ireland) ($1=.6120 Pound) Keywords: BRITAIN BROWN/ (UK bureau, uk.online@reuters.com; +44 207 542 1894) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.