BRITAIN:GORDON BROWN will today seek to renew his leadership and end uncertainty about his premiership with a rallying cry to Labour loyalists to carry the general election fight to David Cameron's Conservatives, writes Frank Millarin Manchester
Already granted a respite by many ministers and MPs contemplating a leadership challenge, a public display of unity is the expected response to Mr Brown's eagerly-awaited conference speech - his second since succeeding Tony Blair last year.
However, Mr Brown found himself obliged to join yesterday's standing ovation for a foreign policy speech through which David Miliband again signalled his enthusiasm to succeed should a leadership vacancy occur.
The foreign secretary paid a fulsome tribute to Mr Brown's "committed leadership" - while confining it to Mr Brown's role in transforming the political debate about international policy over the past 11 years. Addressing his leader directly, Mr Miliband said: "We should take inspiration from that as we go forward." Commentators were swift to note, however, that Mr Miliband failed to repeat this week's ministerial mantra that Mr Brown was also the best or only man to take Britain forward through a period of unprecedented economic challenge.
Students of form also watched the foreign secretary extend his brief to spell out his own personal challenge to Mr Cameron over Europe, while suggesting - without reference to Mr Brown's leadership - that the best might yet be to come for Labour.
Mr Miliband reminded the conference of past electoral defeats and that "the toughest day in government is 10 times better than the easiest day in opposition".
Then, asserting that "these Tories are beatable", Mr Miliband challenged his party: "Let us earn the privilege. Let us seize the opportunity and, above all, let us prove the fatalists wrong."
Many of those fatalistic about Mr Brown's survival prospects have already written off Labour's chances of winning the Glenrothes byelection this autumn, although opinion remains divided as to whether a challenge will or should be mounted before the electorate delivers its verdict in next June's local and European elections.
Some veterans of this summer's Glasgow East byelection defeat, on the other hand, told The Irish Times they believed the international financial crisis had strengthened Mr Brown's position and welcomed yesterday's focus on the economic issues and challenges.
In his speech, chancellor Alistair Darling described the new economic challenges as "unprecedented in decades", telling conference: "The true test of mettle comes when life is tough, not easy. These are very uncertain times. But one thing I am certain about is that we have the right prime minister, the right team and the right policies to help the country through them."
While he would "never be complacent", Mr Darling repeated that "Britain is in much better shape now than in the past to weather" current global storms. "Our economy is strong. We have historically low levels of inflation and high levels of employment," he assured, describing these as achievements owing a great deal to Labour's "vision and values".
Stressing his first priority "to stabilise the banking system", the chancellor said he would be introducing a new banking reform Bill in a fortnight's time.
With effective domestic regulation no longer enough, Mr Darling also echoed Mr Brown's promise that Britain would play a leading role in strengthening global supervision of the markets.
Mr Darling cited the government's decision to take Northern Rock into public ownership to stop the Rock's problems spreading and to protect savers as the credit crunch began tightening its grip. He also attacked the Conservative response to this and to legislation making government intervention easier, saying: "They may claim to be committed to financial stability but people should be judged on what they do, not what they say."