Brown's Labour Party suffers crushing defeat at council elections; PM's office at stake

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has accepted responsibility for his party's defeat

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While McDonnell, the chairman of the left-wing Campaign Group, reportedly told close allies he will not be launching a leadership challenge but will head the campaign at Westminster and around the unions for a change in policy, another left-wing Labour MP, Ian Gibson, said Brown had six months before Labour's annual conference to demonstrate that he can turn around the party's fortunes before the next election.

But there are some who are backing Brown and urging the public to give him some more time to perform.

"People are harsh with Gordon, particularly because they say this is the job he wanted for such a long time and should have been prepared for. When you look at his performance in opposition and in government over 20 years, we are clearly not seeing him at his best. But we know the potential is there and we know he can do it," said Andy Slaughter, Labour MP for Hammersmith and Fulham.

Agrees Katy Clark, Labour MP for Ayrshire North and Arran. "I think we have got to look to our core voters. We have got to go back to basics and deliver for our people," she said. According to Clark, the Labour Party needs to "refocus" on a whole lot of issues, including winning back voters lost over the Iraq war and introducing increase in child benefit, the minimum wage and the state pension.

"If we do that and we behave as Labour and Gordon Brown behaves as Labour Prime Minister, we will definitely win a fourth term," Clark said. "I think it's very, very possible to turn things round if we do the right things now. I don't believe that people don't want a Labour government. I believe they don't want a New Labour government."

"Once you have been in government for a long time, people forget the good things you have done. We need to remind them of that," said Anne Begg, Labour MP for Aberdeen South.

"I think there is still ample time for us to get things right. But we have to show the electorate we are listening to what they said to us," added Gordon Banks, Labour MP for Ochil and South Perthshire.

"These results point to the worst environment that any mid-term government has ever seen, therefore Brown has to learn the lessons. He has been listening to people lately after things went wrong. He needs to do this in the initial stages of decision making," said Michael Connarty, Labour MP for Linlithgow and East Falkirk.

"I still think he is the person with the most solid record and good grasp of what needs to be done to improve the quality of life for the people of this country," Connarty said.

The local press has also been kind to Brown, refusing to write him off.

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