UK's Brown wins support from Labour MPs

By Adrian Croft and Frank Prenesti
LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown beat off a challenge to his authority on Monday, winning over Labour members of parliament after admitting mistakes and taking responsibility for a week of political turmoil.
Addressing Labour's 350 MPs a day after his party suffered a resounding defeat in European elections, Brown expressed contrition but said he was determined to fight on as leader after one of the most difficult weeks of his premiership.
"I know I need to improve," Brown told the MPs, according to a spokesman. "I have my strengths and I have my weaknesses. There are some things I can do well, some not so well.
"You solve the problem not by walking away but by facing it and doing something about it," he said, earning cheers and applause from the majority in the room, according to witnesses.
Several senior Labour members, including Charles Clarke, a former interior minister, called for Brown to step down. However, most threw their weight behind him ahead of a general election due within a year which the opposition center-right Conservatives are tipped to win.
The head of Labour's parliamentary group, Tony Lloyd, said he now saw little chance of Brown being ousted from office.
"I do not believe there will be any challenge to Gordon Brown within our party," he told Sky News.
Brown critics at the meeting said the prime minister had been "put on probation," suggesting there would be no immediate further challenge to his leadership.
EX-MINISTER CALLS FOR BROWN TO GO
Minutes later, a former Labour cabinet minister called for Brown to go.
"Now is the time for Gordon Brown to stand down as Labour leader and as prime minister," Stephen Byers, an ally of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, told a meeting of Labour activists.
Brown, in power since 2007 when he took over from Blair in mid-term, has been under pressure since a parliamentary expenses scandal caused popular disillusion with politics and, particularly, the party that has been in power for 12 years.
The unrest prompted six senior ministers to resign last week. Brown reshuffled his cabinet but Sunday's European election results -- giving Labour its smallest share of a national vote in 100 years -- dealt a new blow to his authority.
An opinion poll in Tuesday's Independent newspaper may give ammunition to those wanting a new leader.
The ComRes survey found that the Conservatives would win a big parliamentary majority if Brown leads Labour into the next election. However, if interior minister Alan Johnson replaced Brown, the Conservatives would fall six seats short of an overall majority. Johnson has pledged allegiance to Brown. Continued...
Source: Reuters