Gordon Brown will today make clear that the government will not allow fuel protesters to knock the government off its course of prudent management of the economy Speaking at the CBI's conference in Birmingham he will say: "I can assure you there will be no sudden lurches in tax or spending policy and no irresponsible pre-election sprees."

Writing in yesterday's Sunday Mirror the chancellor also signalled that the government would focus its efforts on those in most need. "We've already targeted extra money at the poorest pensioners and many of the poorest are now £20 a week better off. Now we want to help those who miss out because they have scrimped and saved, put a little aside for their retirement but who no-one could say are well-off," Brown wrote.

Gordon Brown will paint a rosy picture of the prospects for the British economy arguing that with stability productivity rates could be the equal of those enjoyed in the US. ''We must build from stability to achieve what I believe is now the prize within our grasp US levels of productivity and, thus, long term prosperity for all,'' he will say.

Speaking on the same day as the president of the European commission, Romano Prodi - and to an audience split on the question of the euro - the chancellor will also highlight the European dimension to the government's economic strategy urging that economic reform in the UK should progress alongside reforms in the EU, particularly in the sectors of telecommunications, energy and financial services. ''The challenge today is not to restrict the single market or retreat from it but to extend the single market,'' he will say.