Brown faces new revolt from MPs

AS MANY as 100 Labour MPs are preparing to join a "peasants' revolt" tomorrow by publicly calling for Gordon Brown to quit, saying his time at No 10 is up.

Scotland on Sunday has been told that a new letter is being circulated to MPs this weekend which pays tribute to Brown's achievements but urges him to quit with immediate effect.

Organisers are confident of getting it signed by more than the 72 names required to force a leadership contest, amid speculation a stalking-horse candidate, mooted to be former home secretary Charles Clarke, would then step forward.

Last night, Brown's troubles deepened amid revelations that Lord Mandelson had written a wounding critique of Gordon Brown's personal abilities, allegedly describing the Prime Minister as "insecure", "self-conscious" and "angry".

The assessment, given in private e-mails to a Labour party aide in 2008, also attacks Brown for indulging in celebrity gimmicks and argues he should focus on "strategic policy formulation" rather than "telling people that you watch The X-Factor."

He goes on: "A new public persona cannot be glued on to him."

In the e-mails, Mandelson is also believed to say that Brown cannot win the next general election unless he brings back more heavy hitters into the Cabinet. Labour sources said last night that the full exchange of e-mails showed that Mandelson believed Brown could overcome his challenges.

The revelations will pour more embarrassment on to the Prime Minister, who only two days ago appointed Mandelson as his effective Deputy Prime Minister.

Backbench rebels are furious with Cabinet ministers who are known to have private reservations about Brown's leadership but who decided to stand by the embattled Prime Minister last week.

The latest developments follow a calamitous week for Brown, which saw nine Cabinet ministers quitting office and numerous demands from Labour MPs for him to quit.

Yesterday, a new YouGov poll found that less than half of all Labour Party grassroots activists want Brown to lead them into the next general election, with one in five urging him to quit now.

The poll of 800 party members, carried out on Friday and yesterday in the wake of a week of chaos, found that one in three thought they stood no chance of winning the election if Brown remained leader.

More than half – 53 per cent – thought that they would be better off if Tony Blair was still in No 10.

In Normandy for the D-Day commemorations, Brown insisted he would be staying in office. "In these unprecedented times, you are bound to have ups and downs in politics. But you have to stick with policies and make sure they come through," he said.

But if tonight's European election results are as bad for Labour as predicted, dozens of MPs are expected to go public tomorrow with a joint call for him to quit, with up to 100 ready to sign.

One MP said: "There is a serious letter going around to MPs. If the organisers are correct, there will be at least 75 names on it for Monday. It pays tribute to Gordon, but tells him that he must go now."

MPs say the letter campaign is genuine, unlike a fraudulent letter sent out last week.

In further developments, one of Brown's close friends, Lord O'Neill of Clackmannan, told Scotland on Sunday that the Prime Minister had only days to retrieve the situation or face the exit. O'Neill said: "He has a small amount of time and not much space to manoeuvre. The guy has gone through a hellish period. He still believes he can do as good a job as anyone else. The events of the next few days will be crucial."

Other allies, speaking anonymously, said they could no longer see how Brown could survive. One added: "I do wonder how much longer he can take this now. I can't see how he's going to survive the week."

As well as questions over his leadership, Brown is set to face a backlash from MPs over his decision to include no less than six peers in his team, following the reshuffle on Friday.

They include Mandelson, the new Transport Secretary Lord Adonis and the soon to be ennobled Sir Alan Sugar. Sugar will not be a minister but will advise Brown on small businesses. "The move has caused real anger among MPs. It's just an affront to democracy," said one senior insider.

But Brown's rearguard effort continued yesterday, with former party leader Neil Kinnock mocking the rebels, pointing out that none had yet had the "guts" to come out in public.

He said: "The so-called rebels are very few in number, not substantial, and they lack the most critically important feature in democratic politics – what Churchill called intestinal fortitude – guts. If they had any, they would have made their identities known before now."

So far only former work and pensions secretary James Purnell has openly called for Brown to go.