Leaders of the US House of Representatives were last night battling to secure sufficient backing for the $700 billion US financial bail-out and end the political uncertainty hanging over the rescue bill vote due later today, according to media reports.

Following a wide-margin 74-25 vote in the Senate on Wednesday night to approve a revised version of the legislation, the prospects for passage in the House were improving.

The bill contains a number of measures, such as tax breaks for individuals and firms, designed to woo House Republicans who had previously blocked the package earlier this week.

Critics of a bailout package say the measure will delay, but not avoid, painful adjustments to the US financial system and have argued that is unfair and dangerous for taxpayers to rescue banks that have fallen into trouble due to imprudent lending decisions.

As leaders of both parties insisted on the need to move urgently, a handful of lawmakers who had opposed the bailout earlier in the week announced they would now favour it. Among the latest converts was John Lewis, the Georgia congressman and civil rights leader, who, according to one Democratic aide, gave an “impassioned” speech before the party caucus on Thursday night to explain why he had been moved to switch.