British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is being urged by his supporters to sack David Miliband following the controversial newspaper article which sparked wild speculation about the Foreign Secretary’s leadership ambitions, it was reported today.
Two Labour backbenchers today called on British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to sack David Miliband
following the controversial newspaper article which sparked wild speculation about the Foreign Secretary’s leadership ambitions.
Geraldine Smith said Mr Miliband was “trying to stir up trouble” and should get on with his job, adding that if he was sacked he would return to being a “nonentity” on the backbenches.
Bob Marshall-Andrews accused Mr Miliband of “pretty contemptible politics” and said his behaviour had been “duplicitous”.
Today's moves by the backbenchers follows a feverish day in Westminster yesterday in which Mr Miliband first wrote an article in The Guardiansetting out his vision for Labour's future without mentioning the embattled Prime Minister and then discussed it at a press conference which was meant to be about UK relations with Italy.
It was widely seen as the opening move in a bid for the top job.
But Mr Miliband today insisted that he was not “running a leadership campaign” and believed Mr Brown could hang on as leader. Speaking on BBC2’s Jeremy Vine show, the Foreign Secretary said: “I am not running a leadership campaign. I have always wanted to support Gordon’s leadership.”
Asked if the PM could “hang on”, Mr Miliband replied: “Yes, of course. Look, this leader of the Labour Party has got huge experience, he has got good values.”
He defended his decision to publish an article in yesterday's Guardian."I think the worst thing at the moment would be if we all went mute," he said. "I think it's right that we say that, sure we've taken some hits, but actually we've got ideas about the future of the country, we do want to engage with people."
He added: “Gordon Brown is the leader of our party. I have always supported Gordon’s leadership of the party. I think the party has benefited from the fact that he has brought people on, he’s got a strong team, and we should all be contributing.”
PA