Why we must unite behind Gordon Brown at conference and beyond

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

George Howarth, who this time last year called for a challenge to Gordon Brown’s leadership, has said in an article for Progress today that any notion of removing the PM is now “yesterday’s question” and that the Labour party should refocus on how to win the next general election.

In the Progress piece, Howarth says:

“The moment when a leadership contest might have helped has passed. I do not believe that there is any enthusiasm in the party – despite the parlous state of our standing with the electorate – for a change of leader…I have seen no evidence of a cabinet determination to overthrow the Prime Minister. In any event, with a general election only a matter of months away, expecting a new leader to change the political weather would be a pretty tall order. Moreover, pressure for an even earlier general election would be very intense and, possibly, irresistible.”

He continues that:

“We have also had a world financial crisis, and had we followed the Tories’ prescription the recession would have been far deeper, and far longer. By contrast, Gordon Brown did indeed catalyse world leaders into action.“

Regular readers of LabourList will know that I’ve often been critical of Grodon Brown’s leadership. In June, it was my view that he should resign and allow someone else to fight the year ahead for the good of our electoral prospects.

But there was never any challenger bold enough to step forward and, since then, I have been accutely aware that we are now too close to the general election for any further fracture in our party. Conference must be an expression of unity, not division, and a place and a time where the Labour leadership and grassroots show that there is still energy in our party and still the hunger and ability in our ranks for further change.

We should put social justice and our abhorrence of poverty, both here and abroad back at the top of the agenda, and fight on the causes we believe in, and around those on which Gordon Brown is most passionate and best qualified.

I hope we can put talk of leadership to bed and focus on what really matters: reframing and rearticulating our vision for the future of the country and winning the next election on those grounds.

Read George Howath’s full article for Progress here.