UK - Revealed: how Cabinet Blairites plotted to topple [PM] Brown

The Telegraph ^ | 6/6/2009 | Patrick Hennessy and Melissa Kite

[bruinbirdman]

Hazel Blears, James Purnell, John Hutton and Caroline Flint all claimed that they were working alone when they handed in their resignations to Number 10.

But The Sunday Telegraph can disclose that they were part of a group of Blairites that met secretly for months and tried to co-ordinate last week’s resignations.

Their intention was to force Mr Brown to stand down in favour of Alan Johnson, the then Health Secretary.

Mr Brown faced fresh embarrassment last night after a leaked email showed that Lord Mandelson said the Prime Minister was “self conscious”, “insecure” and “angry”.

The Prime Minister faces another damaging poll defeat on Sunday with the announcement of the result of the European Parliament elections. Mr Brown will come under further pressure on Monday when he addresses backbenchers at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party.

Meanwhile, a survey of Labour backbenchers by this newspaper discloses that almost half of those who responded either refused to support Mr Brown or wanted him to step down.

The Sunday Telegraph has learnt that the group of Blairite ministers behind the plot to oust the Prime Minister planned a “phasing” of resignations after Miss Blears quit on Wednesday.

Miss Flint, the Europe Minister, was meant to follow her on Thursday night but held out to try to get a better Government job, leaving Mr Purnell, the Work and Pensions Secretary, to stage his dramatic walkout instead.

Miss Blears, the former Communities Secretary, telephoned other ministers to try to get them to close ranks behind Mr Purnell.

However, the coup was effectively thwarted by Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary.

Meanwhile, Lord Mandelson’s email was sent to Derek Draper, his former political aide, nine months before his return to the Cabinet last October.

Dated January 2008, when Lord Mandelson was still a European

[pepsionice]

If you had gone out a year before Blair left...and asked people about the idea of accepting Gordon Brown...the answer would have been mostly ‘no’, within the cabinet or just the public itself. Gordon isn’t a Tony Blair. Gordon doesn’t carry charisma. And Gordon doesn’t make 4-star speeches. I think Blair really didn’t care at the end, and just handed the reins over to Brown because he figured Brown would do the job for two years and then a new guy would arrive.

[iopscusa]

Brilliant Gordon and his Obama Beach speech....I still maintain that GB will end up hanging from a streetlamp.

[Malesherbes]

“If it’s Brown, flush it!” Oh, that was a California governor, but maybe it applies generally.