Frank Field launches broadside against Brown
By Ian Dunt
Prominent Labour backbencher Frank Field has become the latest MP to launch an attack against Gordon brown, calling on his fellow MPs to overthrow him.
Writing on his blog following last night’s devastating European election results, Mr Field said: “Don’t let anyone kid themselves that this was an unimportant election where voters felt they could make a clear protest vote. Unless something changes significantly on a national level these results would be reproduced at a general election.
“Labour cannot win with the present prime minister. I was one of the seven who would not support his coronation after Tony Blair was shoehorned out of Number Ten. But even I didn’t think a Brown administration would be as inept as this one.”
He then attacked the campaign around the prime minister – orchestrated primarily by Peter Mandelson – which has been desperately trying to convince MPs that any attempt to topple the prime minister would force a general election.
“The Brownites are attempting to terrorise Labour MPs into inaction. If they succeed then we deserve our fate,” Mr Field wrote.
“It is simply absurd to argue, as does Number Ten, that the next leader must call an immediate general election. A new leader, when being invited by the Queen to form a government, should inform the monarch that he or she intends to return in April of next year to call for a general election on May 6th.”
Mr Field has had several run-ins with the prime minister, not least of which over the 10p tax rate, where he led calls for Mr Brown to do a U-turn.
A short while afterwards, he apologised to the prime minister in the Commons for allowing the debate to become “personal”.
