'I have started so I'll finish': Bruised Brown defies Labour plotters

He used a round of TV interviews to launch a strong defence of his handling of the economy and tell restive Labour MPs to give him time to prove that his 'long-term decisions' are the right ones.

With Labour collapsing in the polls, the Prime Minister suggested that he 'often' consults his predecessor Tony Blair on how to win over the voters.

And he said he would not be diverted from the right moves for the economy even if they are 'unpopular in the short term'.

But he suffered a fresh blow as former Home Secretary David Blunkett became the latest senior Labour figure to publicly join the revolt over his scrapping of the 10p starting rate of tax.

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Mr Blunkett said Mr Brown's move would have a ' disproportionate' effect on low earners.

Trade Minister Lord Jones, meanwhile, pledged '100 per cent support' to Mr Brown but confirmed he would quit before the next election because he cannot back Labour.

The former head of the Confederation of British Industry was an unexpected member of the 'government of all the talents' appointed by Mr Brown.

The Prime Minister was said yesterday to have been put on a year's 'probation' by some senior MPs, suggesting that he had until May next year to improve or face pressure to stand down.

Ex-minister Brian Wilson said: 'At some point Labour MPs are bound to make a sober assessment of whether or not they can win under Gordon Brown.

'Their overwhelming instinct and desire will be to suspend disbelief and assure themselves that they can. The interesting times will arise if they get a different answer when they look their constituents straight in the eye.'

Another former minister told the Daily Mail that this autumn's party conference could be the 'make or break point' if Labour loses the London mayoral elections next month and Mr Brown suffers a 'summer of discontent'.

Ninety out of 100 political insiders and experts surveyed by the Politics Home website said Mr Brown was now an 'electoral liability' for Labour.

And Tory leader David Cameron said the Government had wasted money 'on a gargantuan scale' in the past decade, when it should have been preparing for difficult economic times.

But Mr Brown refused to concede mistakes in his handling of the economy during his decade as Chancellor.

'The management of the economy over the last 11 years has created a stability that is unrivalled in the last 30 or 40 years,' he said. We are better prepared than countries.'

The Government had taken the 'right long-term decisions' to keep inflation low and keep interest rates low.

'I'm not complacent and I will always be vigilant. We will do everything in our power to make sure we're on the side of ordinary, hard-working families.'

Labour rebels say ending the 10p starting rate of income tax will leave 5.3million of the lowest-paid families worse off.

But Mr Brown said the move was part of a 'major reform of the tax system' that also involved cutting the 22p basic rate to 20p.

Most pensioners would be ' protected' by winter fuel payments, while working families would benefit from tax credits and the minimum wage.

He defended his sell-off of more than half of Britain's gold reserves, which critics say has cost £4billion as the price of gold has soared.

Mr Brown said it had been vital to get a more balanced portfolio of Government assets and insisted the value of the euro currency, bought with some of the proceeds, had also increased significantly.

Asked about discontent within Labour about his leadership, he said: 'I'm a person who has set the Labour Party on a course of making the long-term decisions for the future of our country.'

Mr Brown revealed that he regularly discusses his leadership difficulties with Mr Blair, his onetime bitter rival.

'I've worked with Tony for years and we're very good friends,' he claimed.

'We talk often about some of these things.'