LONDON (AP) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown held the first Cabinet meeting outside London in nearly 90 years on Monday, seeking to revive his flagging political fortunes amid a steepening economic downtown.
Brown hosted the meeting of senior ministers in a conference center in Britain's second-largest city, Birmingham, which has suffered from a recent decline in manufacturing jobs — a focus of Brown's agenda.
"I think it is right to get around the country, to hear what people are saying, to listen to people's concerns but also to be able to answer them," Brown told reporters as he toured a Jaguar production plant before the meeting.
The prime minister usually chairs the weekly Cabinet session in London's Downing Street. Monday's meeting was the first of the full Cabinet outside London since 1921 — when then-Prime Minster David Lloyd George interrupted a holiday in Scotland to discuss Irish independence.
Brown has long boasted of Britain's economic resilience, but many economists believe the country is headed for recession. Home prices are plummeting after years of growth, and soaring food and fuel prices have driven inflation to more than twice the government's 2 percent target.
After announcing a new plan to create around 1 million jobs in science, nuclear power and low-carbon industries, Brown insisted Britain would eventually benefit from the world's changing economy.
"It's the countries that have the inventive talent, the creative skills, the ingenuity, the design ability — they are going to get the lion's share of the benefits of this new economy and it's a great opportunity for a country like Britain," Brown said after a meeting with local business leaders.
Cabinet Office minister Ed Miliband insisted the meetings were aimed at listening to public concerns — not burnishing Brown's credentials ahead of Britain's next parliamentary session, which begins next month.
"I do not think it will be winning us any votes, but it is the right thing to do," Miliband told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.
His brother, Foreign Secretary David Miliband, has been calling for change within the governing Labour Party — seen by some as a pitch to replace the leader.
A ComRes poll for the Independent newspaper published Saturday put Brown's Labour Party at 25 percent, with the opposition Conservatives on 44 percent. ComRes questioned 1,013 people on Sept. 3 and 4. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Some legislators expect Brown to face a tough reception from rank-and-file Labour Party members when the organization holds its annual conference in two weeks. |