Brown shrugs off slump in polls

By Adrian Croft

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown shrugged off a slump in his party's poll ratings and rumblings of discontent over his performance on Monday, pledging to be "resolute and determined" in governing the country.

"You go up and down. You've just got to accept what happens in politics. I just want to get on with the job," Brown said after an opinion poll on Sunday showed the Conservatives opening a seven-point lead over his Labour Party.

"I'll continue to be resolute and determined in taking all the decisions that are necessary," he told the BBC.

Brown, who took over from Tony Blair in June, has just gone through the most bruising period of his short premiership.

Two weeks ago, Labour had an opinion poll lead of as much as 11 points and Brown was considering calling a snap election -- two and a half years before he needed to.

But a surge in the Conservatives' popularity after they presented new tax proposals led Brown to scrap any thought of an early election, opening himself up to a torrent of criticism from the media and the opposition.

The Conservatives have accused Brown of pilfering their ideas and of using the same public relations "spin" that voters disliked in Blair.

Pledging to "keep doing what I think is right by the country", Brown said he would stand up for national interests at a European Union summit this week that aims to finalise negotiations on a new EU treaty. Brown is resisting pressure to allow voters a referendum on the treaty.