Brown focuses on long-term

LONDON - Prime Minister Gordon Brown will pledge on Monday not to be pushed off course by the storm in the financial markets but to focus on long-term reforms to enable Britain to compete better globally.

Brown's promise chimes with his appeal to voters on Sunday to judge him over the long term after a bank crisis and a scandal over the government's loss of half the population's personal data sent his popularity plunging.

"Whatever the ups and downs of the world economy, the short-term fluctuations we face, we must continue to make the right long-term decisions for Britain," he will tell the Confederation of British Industry's (CBI) conference on Monday.

"Long-term reforms will intensify and be stepped up," he will tell Britain's leading employers' group, according to excerpts of his speech released in advance. He will lay out his plans for transport, energy and education reforms.

Five months after Brown replaced Tony Blair as prime minister, the ruling Labour Party's once strong opinion poll lead over the opposition Conservatives has turned into a deficit of up to six points.

The first run on a British bank in more than a century -- after mortgage lender Northern Rock was hit by the global credit crunch -- has damaged Brown's reputation for economic competence.

The Bank of England expects the British economy to slow sharply over the coming year as tighter credit conditions dampen investment and spending.

LOST DATA

The government's reputation was also dented by the disclosure last week that it had lost millions of people's personal data in the mail, exposing them to the risk of fraud.

Brown insists Britain can weather the storm from the global credit crunch. "Even in difficult times in the past we have been able to hold to a stable course for the economy," he will say.

The CBI has urged Brown's government to change its plan to introduce a single rate of capital gains tax, saying it will hurt small business owners.

Some critics also question Brown's commitment to Blair's reforms which aimed to make public services more efficient by introducing competition and private sector money.

Brown will tell the CBI his government will decide in the new year whether to give the go-ahead to a new generation of nuclear power plants.

The government believes new nuclear plants and an expansion in renewable energy could help Britain meet its climate change goals and fill an energy gap created by declining North Sea oil production. Environmental groups oppose new nuclear power stations, citing safety and problems with waste disposal.

Brown will signal his support for a proposed third runway at London's congested Heathrow airport, saying Britain must increase capacity at its airports to safeguard its position as a leading world financial centre.

The government will publish legislation on Tuesday to speed up planning decisions on key infrastructure projects, Brown will say, repeating that the government wants three million new homes built by 2020 to tackle a housing shortage.

Brown will pledge a new approach on education, saying Britain must compete in high value-added services and manufacturing.