Brown says needs to work on his presentation

By Keith Weir

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown, often portrayed as a dour figure, has told a men's magazine that he needs to improve his presentational skills to get his message across to voters.

Brown, whose Labour Party is trailing in opinion polls ahead of an election due by next June, opened up to GQ magazine in an interview ranging from bank bonuses to his favourite Saturday night television viewing.

Interviewed by former tabloid newspaper editor Piers Morgan, Brown, 58, was pressed to acknowledge his weaknesses.

"Well, I could present our message a lot better, I'm actually shy by nature rather than extrovert, someone who feels that your actions should speak for themselves, but that's not the way politics works these days," Brown said in excerpts of the interview released by GQ.

"However, the opposition have tried to turn my strengths into weaknesses, making out that I'm indecisive when in fact I've been consistently decisive," he added.

Asked about what he would do after his political career was over, Brown said: "When I leave office I want to be involved in charitable work."

The Conservatives are poised to win the next election, ending Labour's grip on power that began in 1997 when Tony Blair swept into office with Brown as his chancellor.

Brown, who replaced Blair as prime minister mid-term in 2007, said leader David Cameron was "a very good politician" but said that he did not socialise with his rival.