As Nick Robinson suggests, this New Statesman article by Charles Clarke will throw the cat among the Labour pigeons. There are two particularly incendiary quotes in it, both expressing the same sentiment:
And“…Labour’s current course will lead to utter destruction at the next general election.”
“There is, however, a deep and widely shared concern – which does not derive from ideology – that Labour is destined to disaster if we go on as we are…”
Of course, we’ve heard similar from Clarke – and other Labour figures – before. But it’s the timing of this article which is especially worrying for Team Brown. The general assumption is that we’re in the middle of a truce period between the PM and his party – a kind of “give Brown a chance” pact – during which Labour knives were expected to be sheathed. Clarke’s article not only upsets that truce, but it should ensure that full-blown leadership speculation returns to the headlines. And just as Brown’s gearing up to deliver his economic recovery plan.
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