UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown will press other leaders of the G20 group of nations to provide fiscal and monetary stimulus to the global economy, saying joint action is needed as soon as possible.
"There is a need for urgency,'' Mr Brown told reporters travelling with him to the US today. "The cost of inaction will be far greater than the cost of any action.''
The remarks, made en route to a summit that begins in Washington tomorrow, are Mr Brown's strongest comment yet on the need for coordinated action to address the global financial crisis.
They are also his first comments to target monetary policy and to suggest a deadline for regulatory reform.
"We need to agree on the importance of coordination of monetary and fiscal policy,'' Mr Brown said. "We need to agree a clear timetable for reform of the international financial system.''
An international agreement on fiscal stimulus may bolster Mr Brown's case for increased spending and lower taxes in the UK.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling is preparing to announce a further increase in borrowing in his pre-budget report on November 24.
Britain's budget deficit reached its widest since the end of World War II in the six months through September.
China, the world's fourth-largest economy, announced a 4 trillion yuan ($900 billion) stimulus plan this week, saying the funds will be used by the end of 2010 as part of a "pro-active'' fiscal policy.
Finance ministers from G20 nations met in San Paolo earlier this week and agreed to bolster growth as leading industrialised economies battle the threat of recession.
Since March, Mr Brown's government has delivered tax cuts and spending increases worth 4.8 billion pounds to help low-income earners.
The government has delayed an increase in fuel duties and helped homeowners with reduced stamp-duty taxes on property purchases.
Bank of England governor Mervyn King gave conditional backing to Mr Brown's plans yesterday, saying an increase in borrowing must remain "temporary'' or risk backfiring.
Mr Brown seized on Mr King's comments as an endorsement today. "For Britain, a fiscal stimulus is the right course, as Mervyn King made clear,'' he said.
