Brown faces leadership poll clamour

Joan Ryan, a former minister, insisted that Labour's "direction and leadership" was being debated at "all levels" of the party and it was time for such talk to be aired in the open.

She is among a number of usually-loyal MPs who are urging the party to issue leadership nomination forms ahead of Labour's annual conference, which starts in Manchester next weekend.

The Prime Minister was rocked on Friday night when those demands were led by a member of his own Government.

Siobhain McDonagh, who said she had never crossed the leadership in 11 years as an MP, was promptly replaced as an assistant whip when her involvement in the apparent plot became known. She claimed a "huge number" of her fellow Labour MPs shared her desire for a contest. Other MPs insist the rebels are in a small minority.

But Ms Ryan stepped up the pressure on Mr Brown by saying that a leadership contest was essential to meeting the needs of the country.

"I think we need to have a leadership election to trigger a deep and far-reaching debate and those people in our party who have something to offer and are capable of leadership need to put themselves forward," she said.

"We need a multiplicity of candidates. That's a healthy thing to do and that's part of the democracy of our party. It's happening anyway, as I say, but it's happening behind closed doors."

Her comments came as a string of senior Labour MPs - including former health secretary Patricia Hewitt - called Mr Brown's strategy into question and urged him to come up with a "convincing new narrative". Six former ministers were among 12 MPs to complain in an article for Progress magazine that that the Government had failed to show how it would get through the economic turmoil.

Meanwhile, Schools Secretary Ed Balls said there was "very little chance" of the Prime Minister being ousted before the next election. He suggested voters did not want a change of Labour leader and said he believed Mr Brown would still win the next general election.