British prime minister Gordon Brown admitted he was fighting for his political life today as the election campaign entered its critical final five days before polling day.
Mr Brown warned that thousands of public sector workers will lose their jobs if the Conservatives win on Thursday. But his drive to win votes was hit by another setback when a heckler had to be forcefully ejected from a campaign event in Labour's north east heartland after interrupting Mr Brown's speech.
Julian Borthwick, 38, was manhandled from the room by Labour activists shouting: "What about that bigoted woman?" — a reference to the Mr Brown's gaffe last week over lifelong Labour supporter Gillian Duffy, who challenged him over immigration.
Earlier, Mr Brown shrugged off decisions by the Times and the Guardian to switch their support from Labour, saying: "I'm concerned about one group of people and that's the electorate.
"I'm not going spend a great deal of time thinking about what papers say today. I'm thinking about what the electorate are saying next Thursday."
Asked by journalists whether he was up for the battle ahead, Mr Brown said he was "absolutely determined".
"I'm fighting not just for my life but I'm fighting for what I believe is important for the future of the country," he said. "You will see us fighting every minute of every day, every second of every day, for every vote until the campaign is complete.
"I never give up and I will never give up."
But there was more trouble for Mr Brown when, during a speech launching the culture manifesto in Sunderland, Mr Borthwick, an Oxford law graduate, heckled him with comments including "we're broke" and "what about that bigoted woman?"
Mr Brown continued with his speech, only saying that there would be "plenty of time" to ask questions afterwards.
Mr Borthwick said he was angry that the prime minister had such limited contact with the public while he was on the campaign trail.
When the dust settled, Mr Brown warned that a million families will lose tax credits if the Conservatives win. Every family in Britain can be expected to be "targeted" by an emergency budget slashing £6 billion from public spending, he said.
Business secretary Lord Mandelson denied that Labour was "losing" the election, insisted the party was "up for the fight" and branded Liberal Democrat policies a "joke".
In a campaign memo urging party supporters to redouble their efforts, Lord Mandelson insisted it was still a "three-horse race" while warning that if the polls stayed as they were, David Cameron would walk into Number 10 in less than a week.
"This campaign is very much a three-horse race," he said. "But one thing remains clear — only two parties can form the next government and give Britain its prime minister. Labour or Tory. Gordon Brown or David Cameron. The TV debates are over. Now is the time to decide.
"As Gordon said in the debate on Wednesday, if the polls stay as they are, Mr Cameron, with or without the help of Mr Clegg, will walk into Downing Street within less than a week."
A poll released today gave Conservatives a clear lead just six days ahead of the May 6th General Election.
The ICM survey for the Sunday Telegraph showed Nick Clegg's party dropping four points since a similar survey last week to slump into third place behind Labour.
The poll put Tories on 36 per cent, up one point compared to a similar survey last week, Labour on 29 per cent and Lib Dems on 27 per cent.
PA