Gordon Brown, the chancellor, today was accused of missing a series of key economic goals that he set himself when Labour came to power.

A report comparing Britain's record since 1997 with those of its global competitors cast doubt on Mr Brown's much-vaunted boast to have ended ''boom and bust''.

Instead, the chancellor has wasted the favourable economic conditions that he inherited in 1997 and created the circumstances for increased taxes and declining competitiveness and growth, claimed the study published by the Centre for Policy Studies, a right-of-centre think tank.

The pamphlet - entitled Gordon Brown and British Competitiveness - comes after a tough week for the chancellor.

He has faced criticism from a parliamentary committee over the flawed introduction of tax credits, as well as figures showing quarterly GDP growth at just 0.3% and predictions from independent economists that he will miss his borrowing target for 2004 by (pounds) 10bn.

''The evidence suggests that much of the golden economic legacy that Gordon Brown inherited in 1997 is in danger of being frittered away,'' said Keith Marsden, author of the study.

''Growth is down - at a cost of income forgone of nearly (pounds) 2000 per household per year. Taxes are up - another (pounds) 4000 per household per year.

''Savings, investment and productivity growth are all down. Regulations are damaging business, with the rate of start-ups now at a worryingly low level.

''The balance of payments is deep in the red. Deflation is a real threat.''

With GDP growth so far this year falling well short of the 2%-2.5% predicted in Mr Brown's April budget and public spending planned to soar by (pounds) 95bn over the next three years, the outlook for Britain's economy was ''bleak'', said Mr Marsden.