Labour members of Parliament cheered British Prime Minister Gordon Brown when he arrived to address them yesterday for a meeting that will help to decide his political future.

Mr Brown met the 350 Labour MPs in the hope of quelling dissent following calls for him to stand down in the wake of Sunday's heavy defeat in a European election in which Labour took its smallest share of a national vote since 1910.

The Prime Minister, in power since 2007 when he took over from Tony Blair in mid-term, is hoping to convince MPs that he remains the best person to lead the party into the next election, which must be held by June 2010.

As he began yesterday's meeting, Labour members cheered and applauded loudly, with some banging tables and chairs, witnesses said. Mr Brown entered the room with a broad, confident grin.

The meeting follows a make-or-break week for Mr Brown in which he has faced down a revolt, including the resignation of six senior ministers, and had to reshuffle his cabinet.

The collapse in the Labour vote in the European Parliament election, which followed a dismal showing in local government elections last week, helped the far-right British National Party win its first two seats in the European Parliament.

Labour won 15.7 per cent of the European vote, behind the anti-EU UK Independence Party on 16.5 per cent and the Conservatives on 27.7.

Labour's vote was about seven points down from the 2004 European election.

A ComRes opinion poll suggested 62 per cent of voters want an election as soon as possible. The poll also indicated a change of leader was unlikely to improve Labour's chances of success.

Polls predict a big win for the opposition Conservatives at a time when Britain is mired in recession and voters are angry over MPs' expense claims.