Gordon Brown today declared “yesterday was yesterday” as he attempted to recover from his “bigot” gaffe with a visit to a Black Country factory.

The Prime Minister insisted that he was only going to talk about the economy today, 24 hours after he was thrown into a storm over comments he made about widow Gillian Duffy.

The 66-year-old pensioner today  left her Rochdale house without comment, refusing to say if she had accepted Gordon Brown’s apology. But Mr Brown was keen to move on during a visit to Thompson Friction Welding in Halesowen.

The Prime Minister, who was joined by wife Sarah, walked onto the factory floor to meet workers and came face to face with a £2 million Titan Robot which will be exported to China.

He then spoke to a group of about 30 hand-picked employees and congratulated the firm on its success.

None of the questions referred to Mrs Duffy and the gaffe yesterday in which Mr Brown was overheard calling her a “bigoted woman”.

Mr Brown told staff at the factory: “Yesterday was yesterday. Today I want to talk about the economy.” The three party leaders kick-started the countdown to tonight’s BBC TV showdown with visits in the region before preparing for the 90-minute trial at Birmingham University’s Great Hall.

Mr Brown had earlier refused to comment as he arrived to the West Midlands by train at Wolverhampton Station. He and his wife Sarah were met by party supporters from the city clutching a bunch of red balloons.

Tory leader David Cameron was meeting staff and patients at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, while Mr Clegg was being quizzed by students at South Birmingham College.

The leaders were this afternoon practising for the debate, in which Mr Brown’s “bigot” remark is expected to be raised.

Mr Brown was forced to publicly apologise to the grandmother and ask for her forgiveness in person after private comments in which he called her a bigot because of views she made about immigration were caught on a microphone.

Anxious to move on from the major blunder, Mr Brown last night emailed an apology to Labour Party members, admitting his comments about Mrs Duffy would make it more difficult for supporters as the General Election looms.

His wife Sarah also said that her husband had called her after the blunder and was mortified to have upset the pensioner.

Mr Brown was today fighting to limit the damage caused by the controversy. With just a week to go before the election, Labour is still languishing in the opinion polls.

Tonight’s debate, moderated by David Dimbleby, will concentrate on the economy but there will also be 45 minutes of general questions.