Beleaguered British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will attempt to regain the political initiative on Wednesday by unveiling a legislative programme for the year ahead.

After a punishing defeat at local elections and infighting within the ruling Labour Party over poorly judged tax reforms, the government says it wants to show it is "on the side of the British people."

The new measures will include reforms to the regulation of the banking industry and new support for the housing market amid concerns that property prices are falling fast.

Fears were fuelled on Tuesday when a memo being carried by Housing Minister Caroline Flint forecast that house prices would drop by five to 10 percent "at best" this year.

The minister inadvertently revealed the briefing paper to photographers, leading to blown-up pictures of the words appearing in many newspapers.

In his new programme, Brown is also expected to offer to hand over power to local communities to have more say over their lives, including by granting new rights for the public to scrutinise the work of councils, police forces and health bodies.

The prime minister, who took over less than a year ago from Tony Blair, is attempting to claw the government out of the deepest trough in its fortunes for more than a decade.

After being trounced by the main opposition Conservatives in the 1 May local elections, Labour now trails the Tories by 16 percent.

Brown's authority has been eroded by sniping within the party and unwelcome revelations in the memoirs of senior party figures like John Prescott and Blair's wife Cherie.

On Tuesday, the government announced a £2.7-billion (€3.4-billion, $5.2-billion) package to compensate low earners hit by the government's reform of income tax bands.

The issue has been named by Labour lawmakers as a major factor in the local election defeats.

AFP