LONDON (AFP) – British Prime Minister Gordon Brown tried to reach out to middle class voters on Saturday, bringing the looming election battle back to the theme of class. Brown said his governing, centre-left Labour Party would create ‘’more middle class jobs than ever before’’ if it overturns the opinion polls and wins the general election due by June.

Brown has previously sniped at main opposition centre-right Conservative leader David Cameron for his privileged education and background.

That led the Tories to accuse him of fighting an old-fashioned, left-wing class war in a bid to shore up Labour’s traditional vote -- in the face of a looming defeat.

In a major speech to centre-left activists, Brown was to say: ‘’Social mobility will be our theme for the coming election and the coming parliamentary term. ‘’A fair society is one where everyone who works hard and plays by the rules has a chance to fulfil their dreams whether that’s owning a bigger house, taking a holiday abroad, buying a new car or starting a small business.

‘’This is the next project for New Labour... The coming decade will provide the UK with more middle class jobs than ever before.’’

Brown wrote in The Guardian newspaper that he wanted to see ‘’an expanded middle class, not a squeezed middle class’’. ‘’Opportunity and reward cannot be hoarded at the top, and it is not enough to protect people at the bottom,’’ he said.