Blairites demand pledge on reforms as price of halting a challenge

Gordon Brown is under pressure to make major concessions to former allies of Tony Blair as the price of avoiding a bloody leadership battle.

Senior Blairites linked to rumours of a plot to unseat the Prime Minister have indicated they can be bought off by being allowed to influence Labour's next manifesto.

Their stance signals a battle in the weeks ahead for the soul of the party, with Brownites and Blairites repeating the internal warfare that marred many of Labour's years in office. Among the demands made by the Blairites are commitments to put consumer choice and market-style reforms at the heart of public services in future, such as giving patients more say over how and where they are treated, and parents more influence in their schools.

Former health secretary Alan Milburn today used an article in the Independent to urge Mr Brown to resist pressure to tackle the economic slump with Leftist policies and instead pursue a modernising agenda.

Labour think tank Demos issued a pamphlet arguing for individuals to have greater say than the state.

Saying the public have "reached their limits in terms of tax", Mr Milburn said: "We can no longer treat patients as passive recipients of care in a system that denies them both power and responsibility."

He called for a "new relationship" between citizens and state "by giving parents new powers to choose schools and patients to choose treatments" and letting the elderly or disabled control their personal care budgets.