British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said helping family finances is an "immediate priority" for his government as he announced a raft of measures on Wednesday that will be put forward in the next legislative year.

Among the 18 proposed reforms were initiatives to help first-time home buyers, a savings scheme for low-income individuals and protection for bank users in the event of a possible bank collapse.

With rising inflation and ministers predicting a 10 per cent drop in housing prices this year, Brown is under pressure to shore up the economy. But the economic competence of Brown, a former Treasury chief, has recently been crumbling over the credit crunch.

Earlier this month, the Labour party was also battered by its worst municipal election defeats in 40 years earlier when Conservatives snatched control of London's City Hall for the first time. Two byelections next week are seen as key to Labour's recovery.

Plan aims to help housing market

"Our immediate priority for the coming session at a time when food and fuel prices are rising and mortgages more difficult to obtain is to help family finances," Brown said Wednesday as he addressed MPs.

His draft legislative program included a plan to use £200 million to buy unsold new homes either to rent to social tenants or make them available to first-time buyers on a shared ownership basis.

First-time buyers could also benefit from a £100-million shared equity scheme to help them purchase newly-built homes on the open market.

A banking reform bill was also in the plan to protect depositors and help speed up payouts in the event of future bank failures in the wake of the crisis over the mortgage lender Northern Rock.

Also proposed is a national savings scheme that would help millions of people with low incomes save money with the government matching for each pound saved.

Reality show featuring Brown?

Meanwhile, also on Wednesday, word leaked out that Brown might be weighing a reality TV show for young wannabe lawmakers.

The plan was disclosed by documents carried from a cabinet meeting on Tuesday by Communities Secretary Hazel Blears.

Close-up photographs of the document published by British media show details of a planned BBC TV program called Junior P.M. that the note says would be a "golden opportunity" for Brown to ditch his sometimes glum image by starring as the judge.

A spokesman for Blears confirmed there was been contact with producers over the proposal. Recent attempts by Brown to shed his grim demeanour include holding talks with pop star Shakira and recording a video message for American Idol.

With files from the Associated Press