London — Gordon Brown was given until next June by senior Cabinet ministers yesterday to prove himself capable of saving the Labour Party from a general election meltdown or face being unseated.

This came as the Prime Minister pleaded for more time to turn around Labour’s problems, admitting that he had made mistakes. “I will do better,” he said. But one Cabinet minister said that Mr. Brown had nine months to improve Labour’s standing. “We have to accept that if he doesn’t turn things round then we will have to start thinking about the future of the Labour party, rather than just Gordon’s survival.”