Brown launches pre-election Operation Fightback

At a major rally gearing up Labour party workers for a poll likely on May 6, Brown also warned being in government was "not a game"

Struggling British Prime Minister Gordon Brown launched "Operation Fightback" Saturday weeks before a general election, saying while he was "not perfect", voters should think twice before ousting him.

At a major rally gearing up Labour party workers for a poll likely on May 6, Brown also warned being in government was "not a game" -- a dig at the main opposition Conservatives, led by the youthful David Cameron, who are tipped to beat him.

"I know that Labour hasn't done everything right. And I know -- really, I know -- that I'm not perfect," Brown said.

"But I know where I come from, I know what I stand for and I know who I came into politics to represent.

"If you, like me, are from Britain's mainstream majority, from an ordinary family that wants to get on and not simply get by, then my message to you today is simple -- take a second look at us and take a long, hard look at them (the Conservatives)."

Labour announced its campaign slogan for the election would be "A Future Fair For All" ahead of the rally near Coventry in central England. Party officials heralded the event as the start of "Operation Fightback".

Although official election campaigning has not yet started, British politics has taken on an increasingly electioneering tone since the start of the year.

Brown's ruling centre-left Labour party, in power since Tony Blair defeated the Conservatives in 1997, is lagging around nine points behind 43-year-old Cameron's centre-right party in opinion polls.

The prime minister has not yet named a date for the election but several unguarded comments from ministers suggest it will take place on May 6. The latest the vote can be held is June 3.

Brown is frequently accused of lacking charisma but has tried to open up in public more in recent weeks, notably in a prime-time television interview last Sunday when he discussed the death of his baby daughter in 2001 and relationship with wife Sarah.

At Saturday's rally, Brown indicated the economy would be a major election battleground, particularly the need to pull Britain clearly out of recession and maintain investment in public services.

Britain has started crawling out of its worst recession since World War II, according to figures out last month which showed growth of just 0.1 percent in the last quarter of 2009.

Statistics for the first quarter of this year are due at the end of April, potentially just days before the election, with some commentators warning of a possible "double dip" back into recession.

The issue of Britain's massive budget deficit, forecast to be 178 billion pounds for the current fiscal year, is also likely to loom large in the election campaign.

The Conservatives want to start cuts earlier than Labour in a bid to bring the deficit under control.

Brown wants to at least halve the deficit over the next four years but also stresses protecting public services which he says are key to economic growth.

Conservative finance spokesman George Osborne said Brown's speech, which came on the premier's 59th birthday, contained nothing new.

"He asks Britain to take a second look at Labour when the public have been looking at them for 13 years and know they have failed," he said. "Five more years of Gordon Brown won't change anything."