Beckett: Brown must change direction to win election

Her comments came as Labour launched a last-ditch effort to save the PM in the wake of the disastrous Crewe by-election result.

In crisis telephone talks, ministers debated how to revive the Prime Minister’s
political fortunes.

Time to say goodbye? Gordon Brown with his back to No 10 as MPs warned the loss in Crewe could spell the end for New Labour

Mrs Beckett told the BBC: "There is absolutely nothing to say that provided we listen to the electorate, and learn from their clear desire to see a change of course, there's nothing whatsoever to say the result of the next general election is set."

In a separate statement, she said: "It is clear that people in Crewe and Nantwich, just like voters in the local elections three weeks ago, are concerned about the economy and want to send the Government a message just as they have sent previous governments warning shots in the past.

"But I know that the right person to lead the country at this time of economic uncertainty is the man who led our economy through 10 years of economic growth, protecting us against previous global recessions. That person is Gordon Brown.

"Of course (this) was a bad result for the Labour Party but we have the right ideas and the right leader to continue to deliver for Britain."

Meanwhile, the party’s MPs warned that the loss of the formerly safe seat in Crewe and Nantwich marked the end of New Labour.

Senior figures in the party were openly discussing Mr Brown’s future just 11 months after he took over as leader, and there was talk of a ‘death spiral’ gripping the administration.

In a statement, the Left-of-Centre Compass group of backbench MPs declared that ‘New Labour is dead’.

They added: ‘The problem with New Labour is not just that it is not Labour enough, but that it’s not new enough either.’

Their comments echoed those of Tory leader David Cameron, who said the Government had paid the price for running a ‘backward-looking and divisive’ campaign, in which they tried to ridicule the Conservative candidate, Edward Timpson, as a ‘Tory toff’.

‘It was in many ways the end of New Labour,’ he added.

There was little sign of public support from Mr Brown’s colleagues on another black day for the Premier. Most of his Cabinet ministers chose to stay out of sight rather than come to his aid.

There was speculation last night that the Prime Minister could be told by a Cabinet veteran such as Jack Straw, or one of his long-standing allies such as Alistair Darling or Ed Balls, that he has to stand aside for the good of the party.

‘We don’t want him to fail but we have to accept that things are bad,’ said one senior figure.

‘We are looking at ways of getting him out of this mess, but we are also aware that if things don’t turn around soon then it is up to us to do what is right for the party.’

Other ministers acknowledged privately that their fate was bound up with Mr Brown’s.

‘Our first duty is to save him, in order to save ourselves,’ one said.

The lack of consensus seemed to be a sign of the growing panic in the
Labour Party as it contemplated a disastrous defeat in what was previously one of its safest seats.

The Labour majority of 7,078 was wiped out by a 17.6 per cent swing to the right, which handed the Tories a lead of 7,860.

New dawn: Victorious Conservative candidate Edward Timpson shakes hands with defeated Labour candidate Tamsin Dunwoody after he was declared the winner in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election

If reproduced at a General Election, the trend would be enough to sweep Mr Cameron to power and leave Labour with just 101 MPs.

The scale and speed of Mr Brown’s collapse as a political force has horrified MPs in his party, although many point out that a leadership challenge remains unlikely as there is no obvious choice to succeed him.

Potential successors include David Miliband, Alan Johnson, Ed Balls and James Purnell, but none commands widespread support.

With the Commons now adjourned for the Whitsun recess and no sign of any credible public calls for Mr Brown to go, cooler heads cautioned that the tense atmosphere of yesterday was likely to ease over the weekend.

Mr Brown struck a defiant tone as he vowed to restore his reputation.

‘The task that I have set for myself is that we take this economy through difficult times into a future where we have both fairness for all and prosperity for the British people,’ he said.

‘That is the challenge I am going to meet for the British people.’

He had to endure calls from a handful of backbenchers – all with a record of undermining the leadership – for him to change his style. Several called openly for a leadership contest.

Left-winger Lynne Jones said ‘change at the top’ could be the answer to
Labour’s problems, while Graham Stringer, a former government whip, said there was now a ‘real debate’ about whether the party was stronger with Mr Brown or without him.

He added: ‘It is the responsibility of senior members of the Cabinet to say, “We’re going in the wrong direction, it’s impossible to change the situation that we are in at the moment” and to say to Gordon that they intend to stand for election.

‘Without that, we are heading for electoral disaster at the next General Election.’

Another backbencher, John Grogan, called on Mr Brown to carry out an extensive Cabinet reshuffle, bringing back old hands such as Charles Clarke, as the party faced what he described as ‘a fight for our political lives’.

He said: ‘I think we can get back. It isn’t impossible, but we can’t be in denial. There is a mountain to climb.’

But Parliamentary Labour Party chairman Tony Lloyd insisted there was no appetite for a leadership challenge among most MPs. ‘There are always noises from the side,’ he said.

The despondency among the Labour party was matched by jubilation in the Tory ranks.

The scale of the Conservative victory in Crewe was even larger than its strategists had hoped.

And Mr Cameron claimed the public was not just voting against Labour but voting for the Conservatives.

He said: ‘I want to build over the coming months, over the coming years, the biggest coalition for change in our country so that we really can change the country, remove this Government, and give Britain a better chance.

‘We really succeed when we’re the party of everyone – rich, poor, young, old, urban and rural. And most of all, we really succeed when we’re the party of the future – the party of progress.’