Brown fails to shake off sleaze scandal

BRITISH Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s bid to re-establish confidence in his government days before he sets out the budget is being thwarted by a sleaze scandal he cannot shake off.

Despite a week of resignations and apologies, during which the prime minister sought to end a scandal about offensive emails sent by one of his closest advisers, Brown’s weekend opinion poll ratings suggest voters are unimpressed.

Support for his Labour Party slumped to 26% in two opinion polls in yesterday’s newspapers — with one putting the opposition Conservatives as much as 19 points ahead — before the budget on Wednesday.