Prime Minister Gordon Brown has insisted Labour could retain the support of Oxfordshire voters who helped the party to power more than a decade ago.

Mr Brown, in an interview with the Oxford Mail, mounted a strong defence of the Government's record in southern England, where several Labour MPs will be defending relatively small majorities against an advancing Tory party at the next General Election.

They include former cabinet minister Andrew Smith in Oxford East, who clung on to his seat with a mere 963 votes at the 2005 Election, with Liberal Democrat candidate Steve Goddard close behind.

Mr Brown, setting out why he believed the party could hold on to "those people who came to us for the first time a few years ago", said the Government had created a stable economy with better public services and was prepared to take difficult decisions rather than dodging them.

He said: "The important thing, over the last 10 years, is that people in the South have seen their living standards rising substantially.

"We have seen the real terms wealth of people rising even faster than their incomes. We have done what no government has done for 30 years and that is provide stability within which people can actually plan ahead, whether they are homeowners, or businesses, or simply families wanting to make the best of their lives with better public services founded on the stability of the economy."

The Prime Minister, who must call a General Election no later than May 2010, refused to acknowledge the growth of so-called 'southern discomfort', the notion people in the South of England are falling out of love with Labour.

Referring to the Government's record since 1997, Mr Brown said: "The beneficiaries in the south are the families who want more stability in their lives, who want to know their standards of living will continue to rise and who want decent public services.

"We are determined to provide them, and I think standards in our hospitals and our schools will continue to rise as a result of the reforms and changes and modernisation we are bringing in.

"These are the concerns we can answer for people, not just in all areas of the country but specifically those people who came to us for the first time a few years ago."

But Mr Goddard, who will be contesting the Oxford East seat for a third time at the next election, said: "We think we are in with an excellent chance.

"Everything we hear on the doorsteps, not just at local election time but throughout the year, there is a lot of disillusionment with Labour."

He added: "People are looking at us not only for our policies but also to get rid of Labour in East Oxford."

Human rights activist - and former Labour Party member - Peter Tatchell is contesting the seat for the Green Party.

He was unavailable for comment.

Virginia Morris, who contested Oxford East for the Conservatives in 2005, declined to comment.