British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, fighting to reassert his authority after weeks of dire poll ratings and rebellion within his ruling party, says he has no intention of quitting before an election due within a year.
Speaking to a Sunday newspaper, Mr Brown said he would stay on as Prime Minister because he wanted to help Britons through the recession, not out of any wish to hang on to the "trappings of power".
"I am just getting on with the job," he told the News of the World tabloid. "It is because of my purpose in politics that I am determined to lead Labour to the next general election. We must and will win."
Mr Brown trails the centre-right Conservatives by up to 20 per cent in the polls with less than a year before the next parliamentary election. In a separate interview on Saturday, Mr Brown said he "could walk away from all this tomorrow".
One of his senior ministers said Mr Brown did not mean to suggest he wanted to give up power, rather he was not interested in the perks of the job such as a lavish country house.
"Of course the Prime Minister is staying," Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward told Sky News. "He will lead the Labour Party through to the... general election which I assume will be next year." Parliamentary elections are due by June 2010.
One commentator said the Prime Minister had deliberately adopted a softer tone in the Guardian interview to project "a more human image" after criticism that he is too wooden and unemotional for some voters.
Mr Brown spoke openly about his young children, his sleeping habits and the constant demands of a 24-hour media, saying "it's a strange life, really".
"He has been regarded as a bit robotic," Mr Brown's biographer Francis Beckett told the BBC. "What did surprise me was that he was prepared to be as open as he is."
Mr Brown's government has been under pressure for weeks after newspapers printed leaked details of politicians' extravagant and often inappropriate claims for public money to pay for things like pornographic films, horse manure and cookies.
Voters' anger was compounded on Thursday when officials finally published the expenses claims in a heavily censored format with black marks covering key details.
A wave of ministers have resigned from Mr Brown's government, with some blaming his personal style for Labour's demise.
The former finance minister has survived calls from senior colleagues to resign to give their party a fighting chance of winning an unprecedented fourth straight election win.
Mr Brown reshuffled his top ministerial team for the second time in eight months after his centre-left Labour Party fared badly in European and local elections on June 4.
With public trust in politicians at a low, Mr Brown said politicians must work hard to restore people's faith. He urged members of his centre-left Labour party to spend part of their summer holidays in the areas they represent in Parliament.
"I think MPs (members of Parliament) will be wanting to be in their constituencies for a lot of time, talking to people," he told the News of the World.