Brown faces expenses vote defeat

GORDON Brown's own backbenchers are set to pile more pressure on him this week with a disastrous Commons defeat over MPs' expenses.

A Labour MP told Scotland on Sunday the Prime Minister would face "a very dangerous blow" to his authority when members rejected his plan to give MPs a £150 daily attendance allowance. Speculation has been growing at Westminster that Brown may have to abandon his reforms rather than face defeat on Thursday.

He is already struggling to move on from Labour's disastrous Budget and the embarrassment of the e-mail "smeargate" affair earlier this month. A Labour MP said: "I'm not going to support the Government and I know that there will be plenty others.

"It is just a complete mess. If it does go-ahead the Government will lose the vote and it will further undermine Gordon's authority.

"He is in a no-win situation. Either he will withdraw the proposal or go ahead and lose the vote, and in the unlikely event that he wins he will face the venom and poison from the media and the public."

David Cameron, the Conservative leader, and Nick Clegg, the Liberal leader, have opposed Brown's plan to abolish the additional costs allowance, worth £24,006 a year, which is used by MPs to subsidise a second home. This would be replaced by a daily allowance.

Brown felt that he had to act to pre-empt Freedom of Information legislation which will result in four years worth of expenses being published in July. Labour has already been embarrassed after it emerged that the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, claimed £150,000 while staying with her sister.

Although Thursday's vote is to be unwhipped, the result will be seen as an important indication of MPs support for Brown. Last week Sir Christopher Kelly, chairman of the committee on standards in public life, said the "tide of public fury" would continue unabated if MPs passed the reforms. Another Labour backbencher said Kelly's verdict on the proposals were the "kiss of death" for Brown's plans.

Brown's woes intensified yesterday when Tory MP Nadine Dorries confirmed that she was taking legal action related to the recent planned smear campaign. Dorries, along with Tory leader Cameron and shadow chancellor George Osborne, were to be the target of false allegations placed on a Labour website in a campaign orchestrated by spin doctor Damian McBride.

Dorries revealed that she had "instructed" lawyers. It is not known whether the target of the action is McBride, Guido Fawkes, the political blogger who uncovered the plot, or any newspapers involved.