London, May 14:

PM-in-waiting seeks to expand Thatcher ambition with housing plans that include five ‘eco-towns’ Britain’s leader-in-waiting Gordon Brown yesterday rammed home his determination to win middle England back for the Labour party as he ple-dged to create a ‘home owning, asset-owning, wealth-owning democracy’. Brown acknowledged the appeal of the Thatcherite ambition to widen home ownership as he laid out his pledge to build 200,000 new homes a year, including five new ‘eco-towns’.

They will contain up to 100,000 low carbon or carbon neutral homes powered by locally-generated energy from sustainable sources and would bebuilt on old industrial brownfield sites, the first earmarked for an old RAF barracks in Cambridgeshire, eastern England, which is home to an immigration reception centre.

Brown spoke as Labour’s national executive committee confirmed that Tony Blair’s reign as Labour leader will end on June 24. His successor will be announced at a special conference in Manchester, as will the deputy leader. Candidates for both positions will take part in 10 hustings around the country once nominations close on Thursday.

Jacqui Smith, Labour’s chief whip, said she hoped for a contest fought in a ‘spirit of friendship and openness’. Leftwing leadership hopefuls Michael Meacher and John McDonnell are due to decide today, which of them will stand. But beyond the contest for the leadership, Brown faces the bigger challenge of winning back the swing voters once wooed so successfully by New Labour.

A poll giving Labour its best showing for eightmonths offered little comfort. The party was on 34 per cent, three points up on last month and four pointsbehind the Conservatives, one point down on 38 per cent. But in a separate question, support for Labour slipped back down to 32 per cent, if Brown were leader, while the Tories rose to 42 per cent.

Yesterday the chancellor acknowledged that they didn’t do that well’ in the Scottish, Welsh and local elections and promised to learn from the mistakes.