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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. | 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. | Ms McDonagh - a normally loyal MP who has never voted against the government - said she wanted a debate about the future of the party. |
But she said "everybody" in government is talking about the leadership issue and she wanted such discussions to be out in the open. | |
"I think we need to clear the air. I think whoever wants to stand for leader of the Labour Party should do so and we should have a good debate about the direction of the party and the government," she told the BBC News Channel. | |
She said she did not have a particular candidate in mind. | |
She is so far the only member of the government to publicly call for a leadership contest. | |
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. | 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. | 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. |