PRIME Minister Gordon Brown promised there would be further investment in Weymouth and Portland in the build-up to the 2012 Olympics.

He said that a Labour Government would ensure that the area had a permanent legacy in terms of job creation for young people, during a whistle-stop tour of the area yesterday.

Following a visit to Asda supermarket Mr Brown visited a garden party, held in his honour by local Labour Party supporters in Old Castle Road in Weymouth.

Entering to the Labour Party theme music of Jackie Wilson’s 1967 classic Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher and Higher, Mr Brown was joined by South Dorset MP Jim Knight.

Speaking to a crowd of Labour activists against the backdrop of Portland Harbour, Mr Knight said: “We wouldn’t have got the Olympics at Portland if we hadn’t had the support of the Government’s Regional Development Agency to get it.”

Mr Brown praised Mr Knight and said that the South Dorset MP regularly wrote to him badgering him about local issues of jobs and redevelopment for Portland.

Mr Brown said: “I came to Weymouth on my holidays three years ago and within the first three hours the foot and mouth crisis had hit and I had to go.

“But it is a beautiful area and I look forward to having the Olympics on Portland.

“Jim Knight is a magnificent MP and you should be so proud of him.

“He is a man who fights every inch of the way.”

He added: “This election is not just a fight for policies, it’s a fight for values and the best fighter we have locally is Jim.”

In an exclusive interview with the Echo, Mr Brown said he was aware of the issues affecting the people in Dorset including, jobs, development and securing prosperity for the future and was determined to deliver them.

Mr Brown said that the Government had encouraged investment in the area since the naval base closed and promised there was more to come in the run-up to the Olympics.

He said: “We have made a huge investment for the future of Weymouth and Portland and if we look back to the 1980s and 1990s when the port closed, you can see the impact that had.

“But we also need to ensure the future beyond the Olympics.

“Jobs are so important and Jim keeps telling me about the local situation. It’s about creating the jobs for young people.

“We want to encourage people to take education further and encourage and continue redevelopment for the future.

“We want to keep development going on Portland and keep the jobs coming in and it will be incredible.

“It will be a great summer for Weymouth and Portland.

“We look forward to keeping the momentum going and getting young people into jobs.”

Mr Knight said that it was important that investment in the area continued.

He said: “We need to build on this success. We now have the new road that we have been campaigning for years for.

“The new road will support the redevelopment. We want to encourage people to come to Portland. The Olympics is going to be huge and we want to build on that.

“We have started to see people going off for training on Government schemes and we are starting to see them get jobs now.

“We need to keep working with the Regional Development Agency to re-develop Portland and increase the number of jobs.”

Asked how she was enjoying the campaign, Sarah Brown, the Prime Minister’s wife, said: “I really like the campaign and getting out to meet people and hear their stories and concerns, especially when you have weather as good as this.”

Mrs Brown is a campaigner for the White Ribbon Alliance, which raises awareness of the number of women who die around the world in childbirth.

She said: “Gordon is also very passionate about it and he is very supportive.”