Tony Blair will try to convince worried Labour Party members he is the best man to lead them into the next British election after suffering historic losses in European and local polls.
Voters punished the prime minister for waging war in Iraq and vented their anti-European sentiment, pushing Labour to its lowest level in a nationwide election since World War One in the European Parliament poll.
"It was a disappointing vote for us, there's no question about that," Labour Health Secretary John Reid told BBC radio.
With nearly all results in, Labour had won just 23 per cent of the vote, the opposition Conservatives 27 per cent.
The biggest winner was the UK Independence Party (UKIP), advocates of withdrawal from the European Union, which came third with more than 16 per cent.
Analysts said its success underlined the extreme difficulty Mr Blair faces in winning the referendum he has pledged on a constitution for the bloc. That vote may not be held until early 2006, well after the next general election.
The results followed a drubbing in local government elections in which Labour's share of the vote slid to third place, an unprecedented reverse for a governing party. In what was likely to be a tense meeting with Labour parliamentarians later yesterday, Blair would try to calm those worried about losing their seats at the next general election, expected next year.
With some angry Labour members demanding he stand aside, Mr Blair has called on his followers to hold their nerve.
Mr Blair, like US ally President George W. Bush, has faced a public backlash in the violent aftermath of the Iraq war, but those seeking an apology may be disappointed.
"The prime minister has not apologised for the war in Iraq because he believes the war in Iraq was and is the right thing," Mr Blair's spokesman told reporters.
Mr Blair, who holds his monthly press conference today, will seek to regain momentum by focusing on domestic issues.
In the next six weeks, he will outline long-term spending plans and priorities for education, health and tackling crime in what would be an unprecedented Labour third term in power.
"This won't make the prime minister's life any easier and I think we will see... a big effort to show Labour has got new ideas," said political analyst Tony Travers of the London School of Economics.
Analysts said Labour can draw comfort from its 161-seat majority in parliament which means an enormous vote swing would be needed for the party to be ousted at the next election.
Labour was quick to point out governments across Europe were battered by protest votes and British mid-term elections are traditionally used to kick the incumbent government.
In 1999 European elections, the Conservatives soundly beat Labour, but two years later Mr Blair won the 2001 general election in a landslide.
Furthermore, the Conservatives failed fully to capitalise on the government's woes as Britons turned to UKIP with its simple message.
"We are about getting Britain to be a self-governing independent country that is proud of itself... we want our country back," said winning UKIP candidate Robert Kilroy-Silk.
With all but three of Britain's 78 seats in the European Parliament declared, UKIP had 12 seats, up from three in 1999, with the Conservatives ahead on 27 and Labour lagging on 19.