Huddersfield MP calls for secret poll which could force Prime Minister to quit
HUDDERSFIELD MP Barry Sheerman has called for Labour MPs to be given a secret ballot on whether Gordon Brown should stay as party leader.
The normally loyal MP for Huddersfield who chairs the Commons Schools Committee, told the BBC: "I think he would be asked to step aside if people were allowed a free vote."
But Labour MP for Dewsbury Shahid Malik held a meeting of party members on the edge of Mr Sheerman's Huddersfield constituency last night and said there was no support for a leadership contest.
Mr Malik said: "Every party member expressed support for Gordon Brown - 100% of those present - so I'm surprised to hear Mr Sheerman claim that members are not behind Mr Brown."
The fiight comes as Gordon Brown is facing a fight for his political life after James Purnell dramatically quit the Cabinet and urged him to stand down as Prime Minister for the good of the Labour Party.
Mr Purnell gave the PM only moments’ notice of his bombshell departure, announced in an open letter published in the media as polls closed in crucial council and European elections.
As he became the fifth minister to resign in three days, the leading Blairite plunged the Government deeper into crisis by saying that Mr Brown’s removal was needed to give Labour "a fighting chance" of victory at the general election.
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