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Robert Hill looks at the political shenanigans of the past week and suggests the Labour Party needs a change at the top ‘to stop the rot' Courage comes in all shapes and forms. Political courage often means taking a stand at odds with mainstream opinion. James Purnell showed rare courage when he resigned, not just because he was prepared to set aside high office but because he said loud and clear what many in the Labour Party – including a considerable number of the cabinet – have been discussing in private. Eleven words in his resignation letter to the prime minister told the story: ‘Your continued leadership makes a Conservative victory more, not less likely'. Although the expenses scandal played a part, the truth of the Purnell critique was dramatically borne out in the local and European elections. Labour lost all the shire counties it controlled and, in the Euro poll, Gordon Brown suffered the indignity of seeing his party trail in third place behind UKIP. For the first time since 1918 Labour was beaten in the popular vote in Wales and, also for the first time, came second to the nationalists in Scotland. Mr Purnell also told it straight when it came to pinpointing one of the prime minister's major shortcomings – an inability ‘to offer an alternative future'. The Brown/Darling team has been strong and purposeful in its response to the economic crisis and the UK has in many respects shown the way to the rest of the world in how to respond effectively to the banking crisis. Yet, being economically competent does not answer the question of what a Labour Government is for. A failure to articulate a clear vision and strategy has been the besetting sin of the Brown administration, with too many initiatives and not enough strategy. Of course, Mr Purnell's resignation did not trigger Gordon Brown's downfall. Most other ministers stood by their man, either because they did not want to be branded as political assassins or they took a different tactical view. Some are keeping their powder dry for a leadership election they see as inevitable if and when Labour loses a general election. In other times we would have been commenting on the new Ministerial appointments – Andrew Adonis given licence to pursue his passion for trains at the Department for Transport, John Denham taking responsibility for local government (the arena in which he first made a political impact) and John Healey at housing – a key portfolio to which we can expect him to bring his energy, application and analysis. As it is, Gordon Brown's future is still the issue. His cabinet colleagues may have spared him but, as I write, it is far from certain whether he can command the confidence of his backbenchers. An attempt at a backbench coup looks likely, though the rules of the Labour Party make it very hard to eject a sitting prime minister. But when you have the likes of Barry Sheerman and Nick Raynsford speaking out against you – senior and respected MPs rather than cast members of the ‘usual suspects' – then you know you have problems. Gordon Brown is a tenacious man, but even if he sees off his backbenchers he is far from out of the woods. His authority is shot to pieces. He could not reshuffle the cabinet on his own terms, the timing was not of his choosing and the appointments were not all ones of his making. He was forced to keep his Chancellor and Foreign Secretary even though it is an open secret he wanted to move both of them. The administration has the feel of the Callaghan Government as it limped through the winter of discontent in the late 1970s, or the latter days of the fractious Major Government, which was convulsed by internal disputes within the Conservative Party. A weak and wounded Brown-led administration must be David Cameron's dream scenario. But it makes things far too easy for the Conservatives – if they are to form the next government, they should not win by default but by convincing the British people they have a better long-term future for the country. We need a contest of ideas between two strong, vibrant parties. A change of prime minister won't solve many of Labour's problems but it could stop the rot, start the process of rebuilding Labour's purpose and mission, and reduce the risk of the party suffering catastrophic losses at the next general election. Robert Hill was a former adviser to former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and now works as a public policy analyst.

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WHITEHALL

Parting shots hit the target

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