Headline NewsLabour rebels’ deadline for PM’s futureBrown has six months to prove he is up to job By Campbell Gunn Gordon Brown has been given six months to prove that he can beat David Cameron — or face a leadership challenge. Defeat later this month in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election could see the PM ousted even earlier. And with the Tories holding a 26-point lead in the latest opinion poll, that’s looking an increasingly likely prospect. Senior Labour figures are now privately briefing against Mr Brown and have been checking Labour Party rules for ways a formal challenge to his leadership could be mounted. A prominent Labour insider said many ambitious MPs, now in their 40s, see the prospect of a Tory General Election victory as signalling the end of possible ministerial careers. Best years “They look at older Labour MPs, who spent their best years in opposition in the 1980s and 1990s, and don’t fancy finding themselves in the same position,” he explained. “They think if the Tories get in they could spend the next 10 or 15 years in the wilderness on the Opposition benches. And they see Gordon Brown as the main problem facing the party at the moment.” The unrest follows the debacle of the local government elections, the election of Boris Johnson as London mayor and splits between the party at Westminster and in Scotland. For an incumbent Labour prime minister to be challenged, 20 per cent of the party’s MPs — 71 in total — would have to sign a letter asking for a leadership election. However, there are other, less formal ways of removing a leader from the top job in the party. A “stalking horse” candidate could put himself up as a challenger. If he gathered enough support that would pave the way for a more serious candidate. Or a delegation of senior Cabinet members could privately tell the Prime Minister his position was no longer tenable. Abandoned Many backbenchers feel Labour’s core support has been abandoned and New Labour is more interested in middle class voters. They point to the abolition of the 10p tax rate, which hits the poorest in society, as an example of how Labour has deserted its former core support. In 2005, Labour had an overall majority of 67 seats, but with boundary changes that will be in effect at the next General Election, that majority would have been 47. That means the loss of just 24 seats — a two per cent swing — would see them lose their overall majority. An email detailing this scenario has been circulating among Labour MPs whose seats are under threat. Labour peer Lord Desai, an economics professor, recently accused Gordon Brown of appearing weak and indecisive. He also suggested David Miliband would be a better leader. |
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