British prime minister Gordon Brown’s hopes of political survival as suffered another body blow today as Lord Falconer, the former Lord Chancellor, called for an urgent debate on the future of his leadership.
With Labour braced for another mauling in the European elections, Lord Falconer - Tony Blair's old flatmate — said that he did not believe the party could unite as long as Mr Brown remained at the helm.
He warned that if the Prime Minister did not stand down, there were potential candidates waiting in the wings who could be prepared to mount a leadership challenge.
However his call for a leadership contest was rejected by newly promoted Home Secretary Alan Johnson, who is widely regarded as the most likely successor if
Mr Brown is ousted.
"I don't agree that regicide gives you a unified party," he told the BBC television's
Politics Show. "I think that Gordon Brown is the best man for the job."
The intervention by Lord Falconer - the most senior figure within the party to call for a contest - will nevertheless strengthen the hand of backbench Labour rebels thought to be plotting to remove Mr Brown.
Speaking on the
Politics Show,he warned that time was running out for Mr Brown. "I think we are moving moderately quickly towards the need for a change and that change may be a change in leadership," he said.
"We need unity above all. Can we get unity under the current leadership? I am not sure that we can and we need to debate it urgently and I think probably it will need a change in leader."
Earlier, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson cast doubt on the ability of the plotters to put up a credible candidate against Mr Brown.
"It would require somebody to stand against him, somebody who is raising their standard and saying that they could do a better job and we don't have that person," he told BBC television's
The Andrew Marr Show.
He told the rebels to "stop taking shots" at the Prime Minister and warned that they faced the prospect of having to fight an immediate general election if Mr Brown went. "If we were to have a third leader in a single parliament it would mean irresistible pressure to hold a general election," he said.
PA