'Be brave and cut taxes before voters walk away,' Blair ally tells Brown

13 April 2012

'It's inhuman, this constant day after day after day questioning by the press!'

A leading Blairite has attacked Gordon Brown's 'tentative' leadership and demanded tax cuts to help appease disillusioned voters.

Former health secretary Alan Milburn warned the Prime Minister that voters were 'walking away' from Labour because they thought it had failed to 'keep pace' with their concerns.

While Cabinet ministers again attempted to rally round the Prime Minister, Mr Brown faced criticism for his decision not to appear at a meeting of Labour MPs today to discuss plans to introduce 42-day detention without charge.

It will be left up to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to try to win over the party's doubters.

She will outline a package of concessions  -  including greater scrutiny by Parliament and the courts  -  to try to address their concerns. But Mr Brown has refused to budge over the 42-day figure and is said to be prepared to suffer his first Commons defeat rather than do so.

Some ministers fear that could pitch his already battered leadership into an all-out crisis.

They are desperate to persuade Labour MPs not to use the 42-day vote as a vehicle to destabilise Mr Brown, but as many as 50 backbenchers are thought to be ready to back Tory and LibDem opposition to the proposals  -  easily enough to wipe out the Prime Minister's Commons majority.

Rumours continued to swirl about a potential leadership challenge.

Former health secretary Alan Milburn has added to Brown's woes with his attack on the PM

Former health secretary Alan Milburn has added to Brown's woes with his attack on the PM

Foreign Secretary David Miliband has apparently been warned by allies that he will 'miss his chance' if he fails to mount a coup this summer.

His supporters in the Labour party are believed to have cautioned him that the party will skip a generation and opt for Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell  -  or another youthful candidate  -  if he waits until after a Labour defeat in 2010.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband is seen by some as the candidate to replace Gordon Brown but has been warned to act swiftly

Foreign Secretary David Miliband is seen by some as the candidate to replace Gordon Brown but has been warned to act swiftly


Even the party's chief whip, Geoff Hoon, has admitted: 'MPs are thinking about their future. They are thinking about their own positions.'

Ultra-Blairite Mr Milburn, seen as a key figure in any potential leadership challenge, has suggested time is running out for the Prime Minister.

'Tentative change will not get Labour heard,' he said. 'It is big, bold reforms that are now needed. Taxes should be cut, especially for the low-paid.

'For all the blizzard of initiatives that emanate from Whitehall, Labour has yet to develop a coherent post-Blair agenda.'

He called on Mr Brown to relaunch his Premiership by 'giving people greater control over their lives and a fairer share in power'.

He added: 'There will always be events that buffet governments, but leadership is about steering a consistent course and being clear about both the direction of travel and the point of destination. Voters are walking away from us because they fear we have failed to keep pace with them.'

Mr Milburn's intervention was criticised by a Labour source, who said: 'It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how it looks divisive.'

Mr Brown also faced calls from within Labour to bring in more English voices to the Cabinet and get rid of his so-called 'Scots mafia'.

Former Europe minister Keith Vaz called for Essex-born Justice Secretary Jack Straw to be installed as deputy prime minister  -  a post which is currently vacant.

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