Brown faces revolt if local polls go against Labour, warn senior MPs

Gordon Brown risks a debilitating leadership crisis if Labour fails to make gains in the London and local elections on May 1, senior party figures have warned.

Anxious MPs believe the Prime Minister has less than three weeks either to "sort out" the political mess that has soured his premiership, or face an open party revolt.

The Mail has learned that a coalition of heavyweight backbenchers is ready to speak out publicly if - as many MPs now fear - Labour loses the London mayoral election to the Conservatives.

The prospect of a direct challenge to his authority will dismay Downing Street, where aides are battling to get Mr Brown back on the front foot.

In recent weeks - and less then a year after Tony Blair's departure - Labour has been battered by difficult headlines amid uncertainty in Number 10 and Cabinet punch-ups.

Some ministers have speculated privately that Mr Brown might be persuaded to step aside in the interests of the party than risk a General Election defeat.

Although polling day is up to two years away, recent surveys suggest Labour is on course to lose power and more than 100 MPs.

Many fear that Mr Brown is fast approaching a political "point of no return" to match the disastrous final years of John Major's premiership.

One senior former minister said: "The current situation cannot go on for another two years.

"Either he has to sort it out, or there has to be a change. It's up to Gordon Brown to sort it out.

"Labour has a tradition of being a sentimental party that does not like to do in struggling leaders.

"But we've been in power for a decade and we are beginning to take on the characteristics of ruthlessness that the Tories showed when they ditched Margaret Thatcher.

"If we are a serious party of power, we need to act. He is well on track to going down as the worst Labour prime minister ever."

Doubts about Mr Brown's strategy are also beginning to be voiced openly for the first time.

Last week, Tony Lloyd, the chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party, warned that the Prime Minister "has got to reflect on the fact that this Government has not got across to the public what this Labour Government is about and for in its entirety."

MPs deciding Mr Brown's future are likely to wait and see if Labour's share of the vote in the local elections drops below the 26 per cent it recorded last year.

However, the decisive factor will be whether Ken Livingstone is ejected from City Hall in London by Boris Johnson, in what is an increasingly tight mayoral race.

A Tory win would provide a massive boost to David Cameron, who has established a strong lead in the polls.

However, Mr Brown's supporters angrily dismissed talk of a leadership challenge last night, saying there is no convincing candidate to take his place.

Talk by some ministers of a "caretaker premiership" under Jack Straw or Alan Johnson was rejected as "fanciful".

Whitehall sources say they are predicting a blitz of Government announcements in May to win back the agenda, including Lords reform, a statement on British values, a draft bill of rights and responsibilities and an overhaul of party funding.

One senior figure said: "It's absolutely disastrous. Nobody can believe the rate at which problems are coming in and Gordon's inability to deal with them.

"There is no conspiracy at the moment, but anything could happen if we do badly in May. It's happening much faster than you might think."