47% want Brown to quit

2009-06-07 08:29

London - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was braced on Sunday for the results of European elections expected to see his Labour party hammered, and which could deal a fatal blow to his fragile leadership.

Brown, already battling a deep recession and public anger over an expenses row, is fighting for his job after a torrid week that saw 10 ministers resign, disastrous local election results and reports of a plot to oust him.

The prime minister enjoyed a brief respite on Saturday with a trip to France for commemorations marking 65 years since D-Day.
"I think it's important to recognise that in these unprecedented times, we are bound to have ups and downs in politics," he told reporters in Normandy.

He added: "We keep on with the task at hand... We are not diverted."

Pressure resumed

But the pressure resumed on Sunday as ministers prepared for results from the European Parliament elections in which polls suggest Brown's Labour party could come third or even fourth, with the main opposition Conservatives in the lead.

Fringe parties such as the anti-European UK Independence Party (Ukip) and the far-right British National Party (BNP) are also expected to benefit from voter anger at Labour, which has been in power since 1997.

The Observer newspaper reported on Sunday that any significant success for the BNP - which is hoping to win its first member in the EU parliament - could spark a rebellion from Labour lawmakers, who would view it as a failure to engage voters.

Reports of a rebellion by Labour backbenchers last week failed to materialise after Brown reshuffled his cabinet and several high profile ministers publicly pledged their support for his leadership.

But concerns remain that he cannot lead them to electoral success - opinion polls suggest the Conservatives would easily win a national election - and a bad showing in the European vote would reinforce these.

The mood among grassroots supporters, traditionally loyal to the leadership, is also grim. A YouGov/Channel 4 News poll of 800 Labour activists found 47% wanted Brown to quit - 21 percent said he should go immediately.

Next general election

Just 46% said they wanted him to lead Labour into the next general election, which is due by June 2010 - and only 16% thought Labour was likely to win under his leadership, with 45% saying it was not likely.

On Thursday, James Purnell quit as work and pensions secretary saying Labour had no chance of winning the next general election under Brown.

However, the man tipped as Brown's successor, Alan Johnson, who was appointed home secretary in Friday's cabinet reshuffle, repeated his support for the prime minister in a magazine interview.

"I think it would be wrong to challenge Gordon," Johnson told the New Statesman to appear on Thursday, insisting he was "the best man for the job".

Another Labour MP, Jon Cruddas, who came third in the party's deputy leadership election in 2007, wrote in the Sunday Mirror that it would be "madness" to oust the premier and Labour must "pull ourselves together".

There was further embarrassment for the government however with the publication of a leaked e-mail written by Business Secretary Peter
Mandelson in which he describes Brown as "self-conscious" and "insecure".

Mandelson has reportedly been instrumental in shoring up support for Brown in the past week, but the e-mail - written in January 2008 before Mandelson rejoined the government - describes a man uncomfortable in his own skin.

Mandelson's spokesperson told the Mail on Sunday he was only arguing, amid suggestions of an image makeover, that Brown should be himself.

- SAPA