Brown heads off tax rebellion

By Adrian Croft and Sumeet Desai

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown made concessions on tax reform on Wednesday to end a rebellion by members of his own party which had threatened to further erode his authority.

The government said it would look at ways of helping those worst affected by the abolition of the lowest income tax band and backdate any additional payments to the start of the tax year in April.

Frank Field, the leader of the Labour Party rebels, withdrew an amendment which had raised the prospect of a humiliating defeat for Brown in a parliamentary vote next week. "The government has listened," Field said.

The Conservatives, leading in opinion polls, tore into Brown over his "panic" concession after he had repeatedly said the abolition of a 10 percent tax rate band was fair and did not hurt the poor.

In heated exchanges in parliament, Conservative leader David Cameron accused Brown of a U-turn and said he was "a pathetic figure" suffering a massive "lack of authority".

Brown denied he had been "pushed about" by Labour rebels. "I've listened to people's concerns ... I believe it's right to respond where there are low-paid people in difficulty," he told the BBC.

Brown, who replaced Tony Blair as prime minister last June after 10 years as Chancellor, has seen his ratings slide as the effects of the credit crunch dent his reputation for sound economic management.

By bowing to pressure, Brown may embolden party rebels to hold out for concessions on other issues such as toughening terrorism laws or nuclear power, some analysts said.