The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, London

Gordon Brown faced more discouraging polls Saturday after a bruising week that brought his honeymoon period to a grinding halt.

A string of setbacks have rocked his government and surveys suggest his initial burst of popularity since taking over from Tony Blair in June is well and truly over.

The ICM poll in The Guardian newspaper put support for the main opposition Conservatives on 37 percent, Brown's governing Labour Party on 31 percent and the Liberal Democrats on 21 percent.

A grim week for Brown has seen the revelation that the confidential data of 25 million people -- approaching half the population -- has been lost in the post. Finance minister Alistair Darling was accused of trying to cover up details of the fiasco.

Furthermore, five former heads of the armed forces have accused Brown of neglecting the military and the bail-out of the Northern Rock bank has raised questions about the government's competence and whether taxpayers will get all their money back.

Bird flu-related culls and a probable new foot and mouth leak seem the least of Brown's troubles.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper listed "the week's disasters" and concluded Brown had "neither the people nor the structures in place to deal with tough times, let alone crises.

"The British public does not forgive indecision in an era of rising anxiety," it said, calling for a cabinet reshuffle to restore confidence.

The Daily Mail commented: "The waste, incompetence and folly revealed this week have already made an impact. The political climate is changing."

Citing its poll, The Guardian said Labour's support had dropped to the "rock bottom" level hit in the final months of Blair's premiership.

ICM interviewed 1,005 adults by telephone on Wednesday and Thursday.

Meanwhile newspapers weighed into the debate on Brown's attitude towards the military, which is losing troops in Iraq and fierce fighting in Afghanistan.

A chorus of opposition politicians and top military men have said defence funding is not high enough to cope with fighting on two fronts.

The five former heads of the armed forces on Friday strongly criticised Brown's stance, with one suggesting he treated the military "with contempt".

Brown, in the Ugandan capital Kampala for the Commonwealth leaders' summit, has protested that defence spending had increased year-on-year since Labour took office in 1997.

"Gordon Brown fools no-one by protesting he is doing his best for our armed forces," as spending had plunged as a percentage of the overall budget, said The Sun.

"The vital post of defence secretary has been downgraded to a part-time role, carried out b