Gordon Brown lives to fight another day, but he has not united his party, says James Lyons
Key members of Team GB met in the Strangers Bar to toast a job well done after the Prime Minister faced down calls to quit at Monday night’s gathering of the Parliamentary Labour Party.
Gordon Brown capped victory in his battle for survival with a performance that even his enemies grudgingly rated as impressive.
His allies enjoyed a well-earned drink, pleased at the great escape skilfully engineered in the face of several high-profile resignations and abysmal election results.
Most Labour MPs who had also dropped by were relieved that the coup, bloody leadership battle and threat of a general election had been quashed.
They just want the leadership row to go away so they can concentrate on worrying about their expenses.
However, even as they drowned their sorrows Stephen Byers, who remained silent at the PLP, was on his feet at the other end of the House of Commons demanding Brown’s resignation.
David Miliband had guaranteed the PM’s survival days earlier when he declined to follow James Purnell out of the Government.
That didn’t stop broadcasters jostling to record Byers’ address to the Progress rally and there lies the danger for Labour.
A partial truce has been declared, but the crisis didn’t end with the party coming together and there is no end in sight to the leadership speculation.
Most rebels who broke cover believe that if the PM can cling on after Cabinet walkouts and a 15 per cent showing in the Euro polls he is safe until the next election.
They are furious with Miliband. One said: “I’d rather see Ed Balls become leader now – at least he does what he believes in.”
But those who have been plotting behind the scenes are determined to have another go at the party conference. They insist that backbenchers will back a coup in the autumn when an election could realistically be put off until next spring.
Brown’s supporters are already gearing up for the fight. One whip admitted: “Both sides have retired to their corners exhausted but it is just the end of the round.”
The bitter divisions go all the way down to the grassroots with many activists at each other’s throats. Brown has formed a new Cabinet, but not united the party.
Tough by-elections in Glasgow and Norwich, sparked by the resignations of Michael Martin and Ian Gibson, are looming.
With the polls expected just as MPs go off on their long holiday, Labour defeat would set the scene for a summer of damaging soul-searching and recriminations.
Before then, the Prime Minister must do far more than steady the ship. The promise of electoral reform will mean little outside London SW1. Predictions that the
Royal Mail sell-off has been shelved look premature, while national identity cards and the renewal of Trident are here to stay.
The sheer electoral maths means the next general election is not yet lost for Labour, but bold, game-changing action is urgently needed.
James Lyons is political correspondent at the Daily Mirror
