"It's the economy, stupid" is Brown's mantra (Feature)

By Anna Tomforde Apr 27, 2010, 6:02 GMT

London - 'It's the economy, stupid,' has become Gordon Brown's battle cry in his plea to the electorate to give the Labour government under his leadership one more chance.

'I'm asking you, the British people, for a clear and straightforward mandate to continue the urgent and hard work securing the recovery,' appealed Brown, adding that, like many voters, he was an 'ordinary middle-class' man.

With 13 years of Labour government behind them, the British electorate might be forgiven for thinking that politicians have had ample opportunities to put things right - and missed them.

'I don't understand what they're on about. They have had three terms, and we're in a mess. Now they want another chance, says a shopkeeper in central London, whose business is threatened with closure.

Labour Party strategists, bolstered by the analysis supplied by pollsters, believe that the economy will decide Britain's 2010 election.

'British elections tend to be fought on the economic axis, and not so much on values,' Peter Kellner, one of Britain's leading pollsters, said.

Patricia Redhead, a 51-year-old-nurse from Sheffield, told the Sun: 'My main concern is getting the British economy put right without more hardship being inflicted on regular voters.'

With his experience as 10 years of Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer before he became prime minister in 2007, Brown is seen by many as someone who knows how the economy ticks, his strategists believe.

They cite his firm action in averting a collapse of the banking system in the autumn of 2008 as a case in point.

But whilst Brown claims he is the only man to solve the crisis, his critics say he was parly to blame for it.

They point to his generous public spending and his tolerance of excessive lending practices and risk-taking in the City of London which caused the financial turmoil in the first place.

'His record as chancellor is worse than his record as prime minister, he will go down as the worst Chancellor in history,' Oliver Letwin, a key member of the Conservatives' strategy team, told the German Press Agency dpa.

In one of his first acts when he became Chancellor in 1997, Brown granted independence on interest rate-setting policies to the Bank of England, transferring the right from the Treasury.

His critics allege that he subsequently turned a blind eye to the 'freewheeling spirit' in the City of London during the boom years of the 1990s and in early millennium, failing to enforce and supervise regulation.

Brown had 'ruined' the economy by spending when the times were good and not saving a penny for a 'rainy day,' his main challenger, Conservative leader David Cameron accuses.

Cameron warned the electorate not to fall for Brown's pledge that only Labour could put the economy right.

'They will say, stick with the devil you know, don't risk change,' said Cameron, mocking Labour's claim to greater experience on the economy.

'We have had the experience of the experience,' he said.

The Conservatives have based their campaign on the need for immediate sharp cuts in public spending to tackle Britain's massive state deficit of around 167 billion pounds (254 billion dollars), warning that delaying the task was fuelling market uncertainty.

But Brown insists that his plan to cut the deficit by half over the next four years after the election is the safest remedy and that premature cuts and the withdrawal of state support would endanger the budding economic recovery.

For the British voter, acutely aware that they will end up paying the price through spending cuts and tax rises whoever wins, making a choice on the economy is almost a question of faith.