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Brown marks first year as PM Brown marks first year as PM
(20 minutes later)
Gordon Brown will mark his first year as prime minister later with a series of events in Manchester. Downing Street has said it will be "business as usual" as Gordon Brown marks his first year as prime minister.
It comes as Labour were pushed into fifth place, behind the Greens and BNP, in the Henley by-election.It comes as Labour were pushed into fifth place, behind the Greens and BNP, in the Henley by-election.
Labour MP John McFall said it had been a "very tough year" but many of the problems - like the credit crunch - were not of Mr Brown's making. A BBC survey suggests 25% of Labour constituency chairman think Mr Brown should have held an election last year.
Former prime minister Tony Blair said all world leaders were under pressure and he was "100%" behind Mr Brown. But the poll of 135 chairman for The Daily Politics and the World at One found the majority - 106 - believe he is the right person to lead the party.
A YouGov opinion poll for the Daily Telegraph suggests Labour has closed the gap on the Tories over the past month - up five points on the month at 28% but still 18 points behind the Conservatives who dropped one point to 46%. However it suggested there was unease among the party's grassroots about the direction in which he is taking it.
'Extremely difficult job' 'Tough job'
However 61% of those surveyed thought Gordon Brown was a liability to the party, compared to 21% when he came to power a year ago. The survey - which contacted 38% of local Labour Party bosses - found the majority - 70 - thought the party had become too close to big business.
Later Mr Brown will be in Manchester meeting police community support officers and students. Some 89 of the 135 chairman thought Mr Brown was not right to encourage more private investment in the NHS.
I don't believe he is personally unpopular Ben BradshawHealth minister On this unhappy anniversary friends will mutter, foes will shout about the prime minister's misjudgements Nick RobinsonBBC political editor class="" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/">Read Nick's blog in full
Over the past year a series of problems, from Northern Rock and the credit crunch to the decision not to call an election and the 10p tax row have plagued the government. Mr Brown will be spending the day in Manchester on a series of visits and later plans to attend Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday celebrations in London.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme Mr Blair declined to offer any advice, saying he did not want to make things more difficult for Mr Brown. Mr Brown's predecessor as PM, Tony Blair, earlier declined to offer any advice, saying he did not want to make things more difficult for Mr Brown.
He said: "I've done this job, I did it for ten years. It's an honour and a privilege to do it but believe you me, it's an extremely difficult and tough job." He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I've done this job, I did it for ten years. It's an honour and a privilege to do it but believe you me, it's an extremely difficult and tough job."
He said he was 100% supportive of Mr Brown adding: "I've got the utmost respect for someone who does [the job] because I know how hard it is to do."
'Cupboard is bare''Cupboard is bare'
He said he was 100% supportive of Mr Brown adding: "I've got the utmost respect for someone who does [the job] because I know how hard it is to do."
Health Minister Ben Bradshaw earlier told the BBC that the Henley result had been "terrible" for Labour, but Mr Brown had to cope with a "difficult economic backdrop".Health Minister Ben Bradshaw earlier told the BBC that the Henley result had been "terrible" for Labour, but Mr Brown had to cope with a "difficult economic backdrop".
"I don't believe he is personally unpopular, because if you drill down into the opinion polls and the focus groups' work there is almost a complete correlation between (voters') economic situation and their feelings about the prime minister," he said. The highs and lows of Gordon Brown's leadership
On this unhappy anniversary friends will mutter, foes will shout about the prime minister's misjudgements Nick RobinsonBBC political editor class="" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/">Read Nick's blog in full "I don't believe he is personally unpopular, because if you drill down into the opinion polls and the focus groups' work there is almost a complete correlation between [voters'] economic situation and their feelings about the prime minister," he said.
But Conservative leader David Cameron, whose party won the by-election, said Mr Brown had been in charge of the economy for ten years but "didn't put aside money in the good years".But Conservative leader David Cameron, whose party won the by-election, said Mr Brown had been in charge of the economy for ten years but "didn't put aside money in the good years".
"As a result, at the time when people need help, the cupboard is bare. I think that is the most damning thing of all," he said."As a result, at the time when people need help, the cupboard is bare. I think that is the most damning thing of all," he said.
Labour MP Mr McFall, chairman of the Treasury committee, who have been investigating Mr Brown's unpopular decision to axe the 10p tax rate, said that had been "a mistake" and not holding an early general election had been "his judgement". Over the past year a series of problems, from Northern Rock and the credit crunch to the decision not to call an election and the 10p tax row have plagued the government.
He told the BBC: "It's been a very tough year, and in fact it will be a tough 18 months or two years ahead because of the situation we find ourselves in with the credit crunch and the global problems with food and energy prices." A YouGov opinion poll for the Daily Telegraph suggests Labour has closed the gap on the Tories over the past month - up five points on the month at 28% but still 18 points behind the Conservatives who dropped one point to 46%.
But he said after "an unprecedented era of growth" over ten years, it was hard to explain to people that there were global reasons why they had to pay more for their energy bills. However 61% of those surveyed thought Gordon Brown was a liability to the party, compared with 21% when he came to power a year ago.
And Martin Linton, Labour MP for Battersea - which he held with a 163 majority in 2005, said if politicians were judged by results, Mr Brown ought to be "riding high", because of his record on getting pensioners out of poverty, rebuilding schools and hospitals and on the economy. Martin Linton, Labour MP for Battersea - which he held with a 163 majority in 2005, said if politicians were judged by results, Mr Brown ought to be "riding high", because of his record on getting pensioners out of poverty, rebuilding schools and hospitals and on the economy.
"I think that the press and public have both got a downer on him at the moment. I think that the mood will pass because at the end of the day he is doing a good job and people are not giving him the credit that is due to him," he said. "I think that the press and public have both got a downer on him at the moment," he said.
"I think that the mood will pass because at the end of the day he is doing a good job and people are not giving him the credit that is due to him."