BOURNEMOUTH, (England), Sept 29: With public confidence in Prime Minister Tony Blair in a freefall, his main rival Gordon Brown sought on Monday to rally the Labour faithful with a robust call for them to stay true to the party’s values.

The chancellor of the exchequer’s speech to the annual Labour Party conference, and the warm response it earned from delegates, set the bar high for Mr Blair, who will be confronting his skeptics head-on Tuesday.

“Have confidence in our principles,” Mr Brown said as he wound up a passionate defence of his economic policies.

“Have confidence that these principles can be advanced in Labour policies for our time ... Have confidence that Labour values are the values of the British people. This Labour Party — best when we are boldest. Best when we are united. Best when we are Labour.”

Mr Brown’s address in Bournemouth followed a new opinion poll on Monday in the Daily Telegraph newspaper, revealing that 74 per cent of voters now are dissatisfied or unhappy with Mr Blair’s government.

Seventy per cent said Mr Blair had “lost touch with ordinary working people,” and 54 per cent said it was wrong for Britain to get involved in the Iraq conflict.

The Labour party itself won the support of only 31 per cent, the lowest since Mr Blair took over the leadership in 1994.

Mr Brown, who remains untainted by the fallout that has followed the Iraq war, managed to convey both passion and gravity, earning him a standing ovation of some two minutes.

In a hall packed with fellow ministers and delegates, he touted the economic success of six years of Labour government, in a speech peppered with references to social justice and traditional Labour values.

He mocked the opposition Conservatives, saying it was Labour that would best guard the wealth of the nation.

But on Iraq, Mr Brown made only a passing reference, saying it was “right to back our leader Tony Blair” in his efforts “to bring security and reconstruction” in the wake of the US-led war against Saddam Hussein.

Brown’s speech did not go without protest, however, as 2,500 members of trade unions staged a noisy demonstration in Bournemouth calling for more government action to stem a long- term decline in British manufacturing.—AFP