Miliband 'may be made Chancellor to keep him quiet' say key Labour aides

Aides want him to 'neutralise' the Foreign Secretary by shifting him to the Treasury.

Handing him the Chancellor's job currently held by Alistair Darling, who has presided over the Northern Rock scandal and the 10p tax row during an unhappy tenure at No 11, would 'lock him in' to prevent trouble-making.

The calls come after Mr Miliband spelled out his strategy for beating the Tories in what was widely seen as a leadership manifesto.

Gordon Brown is being pressured to make Foreign Secretary David Miliband Chancellor in a bid to 'keep him out of trouble'

One Brown insider said: 'Miliband would have less time to cause trouble or travel around the world grandstanding if he had to concentrate on sorting out the credit crunch.'

The Prime Minister is returning from Beijing determined to confront his troubles with a Cabinet shake-up and measures to ease the financial pressure on families.

The front bench changes are scheduled to happen after Labour's annual conference next month.

The prospect of sackings  -  and promotions  -  is supposed to keep ministers on their toes and discourage them from what is expected to be feverish plotting in the weeks ahead.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's future is in doubt after a string of blunders, Chief Whip Geoff Hoon is also in line for the sack while Defence Secretary and Scottish Secretary Des Browne could be replaced by Ulster Secretary and former Tory MP Shaun Woodward.

Mr Brown will also focus on efforts to counter the impact of soaring food, fuel and housing costs  -  and hope for a 'Beijing bounce' from Britain's Olympic successes.

With Labour 20 points adrift in the polls, the Premier is under intense pressure from his MPs to improve his performance or face a challenge.

His supporters, however, point out that if he goes, his replacement would have to call an immediate election, with potentially devastating losses for Labour.

Mr Brown has told friends he expects the UK to pull out of the economic downturn in just six months, despite last week's figures showing growth at a standstill for the first time in more than 15 years.

Yesterday it emerged that the Premier had let the pressure on him show in an interview in Beijing, when he testily rejected questions about his survival.

'I am not going to do an all-round interview about everything that is happening in politics,' he said. ' People are less interested in personalities and more interested in policies.

'I'm happy to talk to you because you are here. I have given you special time. That is very good of me. You are very fortunate.'

Asked if he was confident he would still be in his job by Christmas, he replied: 'Of course.'

Yesterday Mr Brown faced renewed calls to impose a windfall tax on the record profits of energy companies, something he has previously brushed aside.

A YouGov poll in The Observer found more than two-thirds of people supporting the idea.

Labour MP Jon Cruddas, a popular figure with the unions and seen as a key player in any leadership contest, said: 'We need to take a bolder policy agenda to meet people's material concerns and that's why this policy resonates across the social spectrum.

'There are millions suffering from fuel poverty and it's the job of a Labour government to tackle that.'

Earlier this month Business Secretary John Hutton indicated the Government was 'looking at' the idea. But the Treasury fears it would impose further costs on consumers and damage British competitiveness.

Instead, it is looking at raising more revenue from energy companies under the EU carbon trading scheme.