Gordon Brown insists he can fight back

By Adrian Croft

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown admitted on Sunday he had made mistakes but insisted his party could recover from crushing local poll losses to win the next parliamentary election.

Brown pinned the blame for the Labour Party's disastrous election performance last Thursday on the weakening economy and voters' concerns over rising food and energy prices and a credit squeeze that has sparked fears of a slump in the housing market.

Brown, under increasing criticism from members of parliament in his own party, said he felt voters' "hurt" over price rises but believed he was the man to lead the party through the storm.

"Of course we can recover from this position," Brown told the BBC in one of a series of interviews intended to mark his fightback after the election reverse.

Labour, which has governed for 11 years, lost hundreds of council seats in its worst local election performance on record. The Conservatives ousted Labour's long-serving Ken Livingstone as mayor of London, the most powerful elected post they have held for years.

Labour's share of the vote plunged to 24 percent, 20 points behind the Conservatives, who would soar to a landslide victory if they could repeat that result at the next parliamentary election, which Brown must call by mid-2010.

In an interview on Sky News, Brown insisted he could beat David Cameron, who has re-energised the Conservatives, at the next general election and win a fourth term for Labour.

Brown promised announcements in the next few weeks on helping people in the housing market and helping small businesses get funding as well as on health and education.