Miliband admits: I nearly quit the Cabinet

DAVID Miliband was on the verge of quitting as Foreign Secretary on the same day as the European elections, he revealed last night.

Mr Miliband admitted that last week, he had been considering whether to follow cabinet colleague and long-standing friend James Purnell, the former Work and Pensions Secretary, out the door.

However, he quickly decided to stay loyal to Gordon Brown during the reshuffle, which saw 10 ministers leave the government.

"I'd made my decision on Thursday," Mr Miliband said"Sometimes you can make your decisions with great planning and calculation and sometimes you have to make them rather more quickly.

"James made his decision in good faith, I made my decision in good faith…we all have to live with our decisions."

However, last night also saw Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, predict the Prime Minister can expect another challenge to his position around the time of Labour's annual conference in September.

Lord Mandelson said a "small group" within the party would never be reconciled to Mr Brown's leadership, but insisted he would not "lose any sleep" over it.

The comments came as former Home Secretary Charles Clarke ratcheted up the pressure on Mr Brown by saying he must win two upcoming by-elections, in Glasgow North-East and Norwich North, as well as boosting Labour's standing in the polls, if he was to escape calls for his removal.

Mr Clarke is expected to use a BBC interview today to indicate that he still wants Mr Brown to go.

And prominent backbencher Jon Cruddas warned that Labour could be finished as a major force in British politics unless it had a fundamental rethink of its policies and approach.

Lord Mandelson acknowledged that Mr Brown had not silenced his internal party critics when he faced down demands for his resignation at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party in Westminster on Monday.

"There's a small group who keep coming back. They won't be reconciled to the Prime Minister's leadership," said Lord Mandelson, who was last week named First Secretary of State – effectively deputy prime minister.

However, he added that he would not "lose any sleep" over the threat they posed.

Political analysts believe that, had Mr Miliband followed Mr Purnell in quitting as polls in the council and European elections closed on Thursday night, he would have forced Mr Brown out of office.

He was not one of the ministers who flocked to the television studios to declare their loyalty to the Prime Minister that night, although he let it be known he would not be resigning.

Speaking after a three-hour special session of Cabinet in Downing Street yesterday, Mr Miliband said Labour's leadership had been given an "electric shock" by the disastrous European election results, which saw the party finish third with just over 15 per cent of the vote.

He urged fellow ministers to get out and prepare for "the fight of our life", saying that all Cabinet members should be given "free rein" to go out and make the case for Labour.

Voters do not know what the party and Mr Brown stand for, he admitted.

"We need to make sure the talents and energies of not just the whole of the Cabinet, but the whole of the Labour movement are given free rein because one in 20 people voted for us," said Mr Miliband.

"The truth is that we are not automatons. We all have to get out there."

Mr Clarke said Mr Brown had several hurdles to overcome if he is to remain leader.

The former Home Secretary said:"If, for example, our poll ratings go up or we win these by-elections, I think the issue will go away and he can be confident he leads us into the next election.

"If, on the other hand, he somehow doesn't fulfil these things or electorally we do badly or whatever, it might be that the issue will still be there."

After Mr Brown acknowledged in his speech to the PLP that he had "weaknesses", Lord Mandelson appeared to offer him hints in how to improve his performance as leader.

The Business Secretary said:"I believe in leadership and in being decisive. Secondly, in listening to people and respecting official advice you receive. And thirdly, introducing a bit of humour and jollity to your work."