Ministers set to quit as pressure grows on PM

Three ministers and a string of ministerial aides are poised to quit as Labour rebels unleash a fresh wave of attacks on Gordon Brown.

A leading dissident told the Standard today that a Minister of State, a junior minister and several Parliamentary Private Secretaries are set to resign in a bid to oust the Prime Minister.

Another Minister of State - an office ranked just below the Cabinet - said he was waiting until after the party conference in Manchester this weekend to decide whether to sacrifice his career.

Downing Street today said Barry Gardiner, the Brent MP who warned that Mr Brown was now an international embarrassment, had been sacked from his post as his forestry envoy. But Mr Gardiner immediately issued a statement declaring that he had quit the post.

Another former minister broke cover today to call for a leadership contest. Writing exclusively in the Standard, Janet Anderson said Labour was still popular with the voters but Mr Brown was not.

Government whips were hoping that the leadership challenge was fizzling out, but Ms Anderson's intervention-came as ministers considered their positions-"They're discussing it with their families and partners right now to work out the timing," one source said. A clutch of PPSs is also set to resign.

The Minister of State who is considering quitting today told the Standard: "For the leadership to present this debate as just a dozen disaffected people is just ridiculous. By far the biggest group of Labour MPs, in my experience, is people who think he must go - and the only question that divides them is when."

George Howarth, MP for Knowsley North and a former Home Office minister, today stepped up the attacks, claiming "people have just stopped listening" to Mr Brown. He told Sky News: "I'm saying to any colleague, 'You can't just close your eyes and hope it will go away'."

When Mr Brown ousted Tony Blair in 2006, his allies used similar tactics to try to build up pressure on the then premier.

Graham Stringer, a former Cabinet Office minister who has written to call for a leadership contest, said: "Whether it's next week, after the Scottish [Glenrothes] byelection or next June's Euro elections, it is inevitable there will be a challenge."

Stephen Hughes, Labour Euro-MP for the North-East, said: "For the sake of the party there is an argument he should hand over to an alternative leader," he told The Journal newspaper. "But there is no guarantee that the party would start to pick up."

The big question for many MPs was whether the Left-wing Campaign group would use its numbers to help trigger a contest. So far, few of them are ready to back Blairites such as Siobhan McDonagh, who kicked off the rebellion last week.

Left-wing MP Ronnie Campbell attacked the plotters as "stupid", adding: "It is a world recession and Miliband hasn't got any magic answers and neither has anybody else in the Labour Party."

Labour suffered a weekend of turmoil after junior whip Ms McDonagh and vicechairman Joan Ryan were both sacked after urging a leadership election.

Senior party figures indicated the Cabinet will stay loyal to Mr Brown until after the party conference, but that a disastrous result in the Glenrothes by-election could mean unrest spreading.

A meeting of Labour's ruling National Executive tomorrow will see rebels press for nomination papers - effectively inviting a contest - to be sent to all MPs.

A former assistant general secretary of the Labour Party today said that the leadership was flouting the rule book to save the PM's job. David Evans said that nomination papers should have been issued to all MPs. But allies of Mr Brown insisted that the rules were not being broken.

It would take 70 nominations for a named candidate to begin the formal process, an almost impossible hurdle.

Cabinet ministers John Hutton and Mr Miliband both refused to condemn those calling for a leadership debate.

WHAT NEXT?

It took four years for Michael Heseltine to unseat Margaret Thatcher - but Labour's rebels have just nine months to oust Gordon Brown before the next election gets too close. Here are the key battles ahead:

Nominations: Tomorrow's National Executive will debate whether to invite nominations for a new leader. There is no candidate - it is a device to highlight the "no change, no chance" argument.

Conference: The PM will aim to make the speech of his life. But MPs recall ex-Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith achieved 17 standing ovations in his speech and was still deposed weeks later.

Glenrothes by-election: No date fixed yet but most Labour MPs think they will lose, which could trigger senior figures to go public against the PM.

Cabinet reshuffle: Brown's big chance to stamp his authority and perhaps bind in key figures like Jack Straw and David Miliband.

Pre-Budget Report and Budget: Two dazzling packages from the Chancellor would revive Labour spirits. But forecasts may be dire. A successful Queen's Speech in December would help.

Local and European Elections: A super-Thursday on 4 June next year is the most dangerous moment for Brown. Sweeping defeats in heartlands, as happened this year, would make a Cabinet revolt more likely.