Single parents heckle Brown

The Chancellor, Gordon Brown, faced heckling from angry single parents last night at the latest of Labour's welfare reform roadshows. At a meeting in Wood Green, north London, he was also confronted with repeated questions, some of them from party members in wheelchairs, about the Government's long-term plans for disability benefits.

Not cutting lone parents' benefits would have cost pounds 500m, he responded, and the money was better spent on getting people back to work. "It is our aim not to hurt disabled people but to help those who are most in need by doing more for them," he said. Mr Brown also promised help for the most run-down and unemployment-ridden communities. He closed the meeting by urging party members to have faith in what Tony Blair's government was doing. He said: "Have confidence and have trust. We will do this and we will do it together."