Brown vows to rid Britain from 'dictatorship of oil'

Gordon Brown vowed tonight to free Britain from the "dictatorship of oil" with billions of pounds invested in nuclear and renewable energy sources to counter the effects of soaring world oil prices.

In a keynote speech to the Scottish CBI in Glasgow, the Prime Minister promised that the Government would do all it could to help families and businesses to pull through the global economic downturn.

After Chancellor Alistair Darling's bleak assessment of the current economic conditions as the worst for 60 years, Mr Brown insisted that he was "cautiously optimistic" about Britain's ability to ride out the storm.

However, he faced a renewed attack on his leadership from former home secretary Charles Clarke who said that he should "stand down with honour" unless he was able to turn around the fortunes of the Labour Party within a matter of months.

In his speech, Mr Brown sought to calm the fears sparked by Mr Darling's remarks in a weekend newspaper interview which helped to send the pound plummeting on the foreign exchanges.

"Undoubtedly we face a challenging period in the British economy - particularly given our position at the heart of the world's financial markets - and both the Chancellor and I understand the difficulties you face," he said.

"But while never complacent about our economic prospects, I am also cautiously optimistic about the long-term resilience and underlying strengths of the British economy."

He promised further "targeted support" for families struggling with rising food and energy bills, with the Government's much-trumpeted package for tackling fuel poverty due to be published next week.

While people understood that no national government alone could "put everything right that is creating hardship", he said that they did look to ministers to take action to help them through difficult times.

"We will not let them down," he said. "We will do what it takes to bring security to families on modest and middle incomes. And we will ensure that no-one who is prepared to work hard and adapt to change will lose out as a result of global forces."

Once the current turmoil was over, Mr Brown said that Britain stood to gain as the world economy doubled in size over the coming years.

At the same time, however, the extreme volatility in world oil prices underlined the need for a "revolution" in the way the country used energy resources, reducing its long-term dependence on oil.

"So today I set a new ambition to free Britain from the dictatorship of oil," he said.

As a first step, he announced the approval of a new offshore wind farm near Walney Island, off the coast of Barrow-in-Furness, with 139 turbines making it one of the largest in the UK.

The Prime Minister also confirmed plans for a major pilot programme for electric cars, exploring their role in a "sustainable transport system" of the future.

He held out the prospect of at least one million new jobs being created in the new "green economy" by 2030 if British companies were prepared to invest in low-carbon technologies.

"A low-carbon society will not emerge from business as usual," he said.

"It will require new thinking and new technologies, new forms of economic activity and social organisation, new forms of consumer behaviour and lifestyles and your creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship to unlock the talents and skills of UK companies.

"So if the British economy, British firms and the people of Britain are to reap the benefits of a new low-carbon future, then every one of us - in every part of Britain - will need to act together."

Mr Brown concluded with an attack on the Scottish National Party, warning that their attempts to break-up the United Kingdom would be a huge mistake at a time of rising global challenges.

"Set against the global challenges facing us today, the bleak separatist obsession of the nationalists to split Scotland from the rest of the UK looks at best like self-indulgent posturing. At worst like a wilful denial of the realities of the world we live in," he said.

Earlier, Mr Clarke renewed his warning that the Labour Party would not allow Mr Brown to lead them to "utter destruction" at the next general election if the party's fortunes did not improve.

However, he said that the party's "cumbersome" leadership rules meant that it would be better if he stood down of his own accord rather than force his opponents to mount a challenge.

"The best for the country would be if Gordon made his own mind up, that is after all what a whole string of national and party leaders have done in past decades - decided that there came a point where it was better for them to go with honour and I think that would be far and away the best," he said.

"In the event that didn't happen, then I think it would be down principally to the Cabinet to decide how to proceed and what to do, and to do that in an expeditious way."

His comments were dismissed by Children's Secretary Ed Balls, a key ally of Mr Brown, who said that Mr Clarke was well-known as a long-standing critic of the Prime Minister.

"It's not the first time Charles has made those kind of comments. I think it's Charles being Charles. I don't think that's where the debate will be when we get to the next general election," he said.