Brown targets families in fight back

By Adrian Croft and Katherine Baldwin

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown, seeking to reverse a slump in popularity, offered help on Wednesday for Britain's troubled housing market and for families hit by an economic downturn.

Opponents called Brown's move a desperate bid for survival after support for Labour hit a record low. Opinion polls suggest the Conservatives would win power with a big majority if an election were held now.

"Our immediate priority -- at a time when food and fuel bills are rising and mortgages more difficult to obtain -- is to help family finances," Brown told parliament as he unveiled a draft legislative agenda for 2008-2009.

The Bank of England on Wednesday delivered its bleakest economic forecasts since Labour came to power in 1997, predicting accelerating inflation, slowing growth and further house price falls.

Brown proposed a national savings scheme for low earners to which the government would contribute.

He announced reforms to banking regulations, whose failings were exposed last year when Britain suffered its first run on a major bank in more than a century. There were also reforms to education, policing and immigration.

The Conservatives said the plans were another relaunch to save Brown's political skin.

Labour slumped to its worst share of the vote on record in May 1 local council elections amid mounting living costs, concern about a potential house price crash and fatigue with Labour after 11 years in power.