PM ‘can’t leave until work is finished’
Gordon Brown has dismissed renewed calls for him to step down by insisting he will only leave when he ‘finishes the job’.
The prime minister has been under increasing pressure after public consternation over government policy and an economic downturn was followed by heavy by-election defeats in Crewe and Nantwich and Henley.
The party is not challenging today’s vote in Haltemprice and Howden, trigged by former shadow home secretary David Davis’ protest at the government’s deeply-controversial and divisive 42-day terror detention plans.
Senior Labour figures have publicly questioned whether Mr Brown can lead the party to anything other than a general election defeat, while observers say a loss in this month’s Glasgow East by-election could spell the end for the prime minister.
But speaking to the New Statesman he said by-election defeats did and would not discourage him from getting on with the work of No 10.
“I’m here to do a job and I’ll leave when I finish the job,” Mr Brown explained.
In his interview with the magazine he voiced doubts over the value of prime minister’s questions.
“The question is it does it help solve problems and illuminate the big issues and big challenges of the country?
“You’ve got climate change, you’ve got what’s happening to oil prices, you’ve got terrorism and security and these are rarely issues that come up.”
Mr Brown also denied reports he frequently lost his temper and said he was not prepared to champion his socialist credentials as such labels “confuse people”.
