Mr Brown pinned the blame for the Labour Party's disastrous election performance last Thursday on the weakening economy and voters' concerns over rising food and energy prices and a credit squeeze that has sparked fears of a slump in the housing market.

Mr Brown, under increasing criticism from lawmakers in his own party, said on Sunday he felt voters' 'hurt' over price rises but believed he was the man to lead the party through the storm.

'Of course we can recover from this position,' Mr Brown told the BBC in one of a series of interviews intended to mark his fightback after the election reverse.

Labour, which has governed Britain for 11 years, lost hundreds of council seats in its worst local election performance on record. The opposition Conservatives ousted Labour's long-serving Ken Livingstone as mayor of London, the most powerful elected post they have held for years.

Labour's share of the vote plunged to 24 per cent, 20 points behind the Conservatives, who would soar to a landslide victory if they could repeat that result at the next parliamentary election, which Brown must call by mid-2010.

In an interview on Sky News, Mr Brown insisted he could beat Mr David Cameron, who has re-energised the Conservatives, at the next general election and win a fourth term for Labour.

Mr Brown promised announcements in the next few weeks on helping people in the housing market and helping small businesses get funding as well as on health and education.

Newspapers said Mr Brown planned a number of steps to ease the burden on hard-pressed voters.

The Daily Mail said he would ditch plans for taxes on household rubbish to promote recycling and give more help to borrowers facing repossession of their homes.

The Guardian said in its Monday edition the government would expand shared-equity schemes to boost the housing market and put more pressure on supermarkets to contain food price rises.

The election defeat was a stinging rebuke to Mr Brown, who replaced Mr Tony Blair as prime minister 11 months ago after serving for a decade as Mr Blair's finance minister.

Slide in popularity
Mr Brown's popularity has been hit by the credit crunch, administrative blunders and doubts among voters over whether his dour personality is suited to leadership.

'My immediate priority is making sure we come through this difficult economic time,' Mr Brown told the BBC, adding that he felt responsible for the poor election result.

He said his government had made mistakes, including the abolition of a 10 per cent tax band, which hit low earners and is seen as a key factor in the election losses.

Mr Brown vowed to press ahead with plans to extend the pre-charge detention period for terrorism suspects to 42 days despite signs he could face a parliamentary defeat.

The Conservatives scoffed at Mr Brown's counter-attack.

'A lot of the economic difficulties we are facing are caused entirely by him,' senior Conservative Alan Duncan said.

Tackling doubts over his personality, Mr Brown said he was a 'more private person' than Mr Blair and that he may focus too much on detail.

The party's slide has caused growing alarm among Labour legislators. One Labour lawmaker, Mr Graham Stringer, said on Saturday that ministers had been involved in talks on whether there should be a leadership challenge to Mr Brown.

Mr Brown said he did not expect to face a challenge. -- REUTERS