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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Labour whip wants leader contest | Labour whip wants leader contest |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A junior member of the government has broken ranks to call for a challenge to Gordon Brown as party leader. | A junior member of the government has broken ranks to call for a challenge to Gordon Brown as party leader. |
| Government whip Siobhain McDonagh is thought to be among the Labour MPs to have sought details about the nomination process for a contest. | |
| Labour confirmed they have had letters from a "small number" of MPs asking why no nomination papers for leader were issued ahead of the party conference. | Labour confirmed they have had letters from a "small number" of MPs asking why no nomination papers for leader were issued ahead of the party conference. |
| It would take 70 MPs to trigger a potential leadership contest. | It would take 70 MPs to trigger a potential leadership contest. |
| Ms McDonagh - a normally loyal MP who has never voted against the government - said she wanted a debate about the future of the party. | |
| She is so far the only member of the government to publicly call for Mr Brown to stand down as Labour leader. | |
| Backbencher Graham Stringer was the first Labour MP to call for Mr Brown to step down, after the party's defeat at the Crewe and Nantwich by-election in May. | |
| And former Home Secretary Charles Clarke last week warned the party faced "destruction" at the next general election - and told Mr Brown to improve his performance or quit. |