British PM's party to tell bankers to curb bonuses

Britain's beleaguered ruling Labour Party promised tough new action
on bankers' bonuses Monday, as it fights for its life ahead of
general elections next year. Prime Minister Gordon Brown was forced
to spend the first day of his party's annual conference on Sunday
fending off questions about his health. Business minister Peter
Mandelson blasted the BBC for asking Brown if he was dependent on
anti-depressant drugs, saying the rumours circulating on the Internet
were "completely groundless". Mandelson, Brown's de facto deputy,
said it was "absolutely ridiculous" to suggest the prime minister
had a problem with pill use, and blamed politically motivated bloggers
for raising the possibility. With an election to take place by June,
Labour is so far behind the opposition Conservatives in opinion
polls after 12 years in power that it has little choice but to
portray itself as the underdog.