HYNDBURN MP Greg Pope has called on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to step down in order to save Labour’s chance of winning the next General Election.
The backbencher, who rebelled against Mr Brown during the 10p tax rate row last year, believes Labour can still win a fourth term if swift action is taken.
Writing in his blog Mr Pope said: "We can win but in order to do so we need a change of leader.
"As Labour MP Barry Sheerman writes cogently we have a leader who is disastrously more unpopular than our party.
"Labour has been appallingly ill-served by a cabal surrounding Gordon Brown.
"First they destabilised Tony Blair’s leadership, an act of shocking disloyalty to someone who had won us an unprecedented three election victories in a row; then they ensured that Gordon was crowned leader rather than elected."
He added: "The people that I represent need a Labour government and I am desperate to see one returned in 2010.
"I’ve written before that we need a change of strategy but more than that we need a change of leader.
"The Tories are still mistrusted by a large section of the electorate and the result of the next election is not a foregone conclusion.
"Gordon loves the Labour party but the best thing that he could do now to help it stay in office would be to leave its leadership."
Mr Pope is stepping down at the next General Election after spending almost 18 years as MP.
