Reid 'to give Brown a clear run'

Mr Reid again refused to rule himself out as a candidate but emphasised the "unity" at the top of the party ahead of the May 3 polls.

His comments came after the Chancellor conceded that a drubbing for Labour next week would reflect badly on him as well as Tony Blair - saying people "will be voting on all of us".

Mr Reid refused to say whether it was a "done deal" that Mr Brown would be the next premier, stressing in a BBC interview that Labour MPs were focusing on "maximum unity" on the campaign trail.

"I predict that we will not only see that unity up to this election, but beyond this election, and rather than the expected fracturing of Labour beyond it, we will see a coming together of all of the Labour leadership beyond this election," he added.

He said the the Labour leadership was in "total agreement" about how to address the key challenges of the next decade - such as globalisation, security, and the environment.

Mr Reid continued: "There will not be a fracturing beyond this election - there will be a coming together of the Labour leadership. We have stood together over the past 10 years. We took the accolades together, we now must take responsibility together if we are declining in the polls and we will forge a future together in a spirit of unity and on the basis of substantial policy."

Challenged that he appeared to be ruling himself out as a contender, he insisted he would not speculate on the leadership elections.

"The election that matters to me is the election which places before the British people the choice between Conservatives and Labour," he added.

Labour is expected to fare badly at next Thursday's polls, but Mr Blair has ruled out declaring when he will quit beforehand to take some of the flak.