Brown brushes off 'ups and downs'

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Gordon Brown has said he will continue to be "resolute and determined" despite recent difficulties - adding "you have to accept things... go up and down".

The prime minister has faced criticism and opinion poll falls after deciding against holding an autumn election.

On Sunday ex-minister Lord Falconer, a close ally of Tony Blair, said Mr Brown must show he had a vision for Britain.

Asked what his vision was, the PM told the BBC it was to "break down barriers to opportunity and unlock" potential.

It's a vision thing. That's what people are looking for... We have a very clear vision John HuttonBusiness Secretary

Mr Brown was speaking at a London school's sports hall as he highlighted efforts to tackle the problem of childhood obesity.

Asked about the negative turnaround in opinion polls, Mr Brown said things go "up and down" in politics and said "you have just got to accept that's what happens in politics".

He added that he wanted to just "get on with the job... helping young people to reach their potential".

'Not Blairites or Brownites'

On Sunday ministers rallied round Mr Brown after Lord Falconer's comments, saying the Labour Party had a "responsibility to be united behind our prime minister".

Health minister Ivan Lewis said "self discipline" was needed after a difficult fortnight for Labour.

Mr Lewis said: "We need unity behind our prime minister and we need to remember that we're Labourites, not Blairites or Brownites.

"We have a responsibility to be united behind our prime minister."

He said Mr Brown had "overwhelming support in the party".

Lord Falconer has been a long-standing staunch ally of Tony Blair

However, Lord Falconer said if Labour governed only on the basis of past experience, there could be "drift", adding that "renewal does not come from change of leadership alone".

Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell said suggestions that supporters of Mr Blair were preparing an onslaught against Mr Brown were "absolutely and categorically untrue".

Business Secretary John Hutton told BBC One's Andrew Marr show that politics was a "rough trade sometimes".

He added: "What we have got to do is rise above all this brouhaha."

Tectonic plates

But he agreed Labour had to show its "vision for the future", adding: "It's a vision thing. That's what people are looking for... We have a very clear vision.

"New Labour is going to remain in business as a political concern."

An ICM opinion poll for The Sunday Telegraph puts the Tories on 43%, Labour on 36% and the Liberal Democrats on 14%.

The findings were obtained from a random sample of 1,010 adults phoned on 10 and 11 October.

Two weeks ago, during the Labour Party conference, Labour held an 11-point lead over the Tories in some opinion polls.

Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said the "tectonic plates" in politics had "shifted" in favour of the Conservatives.