GORDON Brown sent a defiant message yesterday that he would not capitulate to the clamour for him to go – saying the British public would not forgive him for turning his back on the country in difficult times.
In a speech to party faithful in London, the Prime Minister issued a coded warning that there would have to be a general election if he was replaced by a new leader now.
"What would they (the public] think of us if ever we walked away from them a
t a time of need? We are sticking with them," he said. His warning came hours after Lord Falconer, the former Lord Chancellor, said it was time for a change of leader.
Meanwhile, Lord Mandelson, who is now effectively propping up Mr Brown as a de facto deputy prime minister, called on rebels to "stop taking shots" at the Prime Minister. They now privately concede that without the support of key Cabinet ministers – and with Labour MPs fearing a Conservative landslide that an autumn election could bring if it was triggered by a change of leader now – it is difficult to oust the Prime Minister.
In the face of a further election drubbing, they still plan to confront Mr Brown at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party meeting tonight.
The plotters are threatening to revive their plans for a coup in the autumn, which would allow a new leader to hold off calling an election until next May.
Lord Falconer, a former flatmate of Tony Blair, yesterday issued a rallying cry to disgruntled MPs and Labour Party members. "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."
Hours after Lord Falconer issued his call for change, Mr Brown was being well received at the largely stage-managed London event with Labour Party activists. He sprinkled his speech with jokes, telling the audience that his wife, Sarah, was not there, but that she fortunately had "not resigned".
Mr Brown, stung by charges from the former Europe minister, Caroline Flint, that he was sexist, started by praising Ms Harman for bringing in the equalities bill. He then took questions from the hand-picked audience. The event was designed to send a stern warning to plotters that he was resilient in the face of criticism and could rally party activists behind him.
Tessa Jowell, who held on to her Olympics role and took over as minister for the Cabinet Office in the reshuffle, also broke cover yesterday to suggest the Prime Minister could stand aside if it were for the good of the party.
Asked if Mr Brown would resign if his senior colleagues told him it was time to go, Ms Jowell said: "Gordon Brown loves the Labour Party; he is Labour through and through.
"If Gordon Brown were to reach a conclusion that he personally was an obstacle to Labour's recovery and achievement, then of course."
Her admission came as details emerged of an e-mail sent by Lord Mandelson to Derek Draper, his former researcher and spin doctor, describing Mr Brown's character.
Lord Mandelson, then the EU trade commissioner, had summarised Mr Brown as "insecure, self-conscious … and angry". The message had been sent before Lord Mandelson returned to government and ended the feud with Mr Brown that lasted more than a decade.
In the e-mail, sent in January last year, Lord Mandelson also complained that none of Mr Brown's advisers had spelled out his defects to him, or told him how to put them right.
Yesterday, he dismissed the e-mail, saying it had been written more than a year ago.
He also played down the prospects of a change of leader, saying: "It would require somebody to stand against (Mr Brown], somebody who is raising their standard and saying that they could do a better job, and we don't have that person."
He told the rebels they faced the prospect of 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."
Mr Brown's potential challenger, Alan Johnson, the new Home Secretary, said: "I don't agree that regicide gives you a unified party."
