Government 'not doing well enough'

The Government is "not doing well enough" and needs to stop "sounding miserable" a senior Cabinet figure has admitted.

Business Secretary John Hutton said the Government must set out a clear vision for the future if it is to win the next election.

"I think we can win the next election and we've got to do that I think in two ways: set out a very positive, clear vision about how our values are right for the country and how we can take the country forward," he said.

"We have got to stop sounding miserable about ourselves and sounding as if we have been treated unfairly....We are not doing well enough. It's what the voters have said to us."

Despite the Prime Minister's plummeting popularity ratings Mr Hutton argued that Labour could still win the next General Election with Gordon Brown at the helm.

The minister's support for Mr Brown will be gratefully received by Downing Street. It follows Foreign Secretary David Miliband's apparent attempt to launch a leadership bid.

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