Gordon Brown says he’s the underdog in 3-way race for British leadership as papers desert him

Gordon Brown calls himself underdog in 3-way race

LONDON — Prime Minister Gordon Brown says his Labour Party, which has ruled the country for 13 years, is the underdog in a three-way race for the U.K. leadership.

Labour holds 345 seats in Parliament and the party could still cling to power even if it is handed a humiliating third-place finish in the popular vote Thursday.

But Brown told The Observer newspaper that his party was the one facing the longest odds.

The interview published Sunday came as The Observer threw its support behind the insurgent Liberal Democrats, who have shot to the top of the polls on the back of Britain’s first-ever U.S.-style televised debates.

It is the latest newspaper endorsement to go to Brown’s rivals in what has been an especially difficult campaign for the prime minister.