Reid told Brown to resign; Darling and Miliband won’t budge; Balls to Treasury would spark new revolt

From @LabourList

Iain Dale is reporting that John Reid not only refused the Prime Minister’s pleas to join the cabinet as Home Secretary, but that he also told the Prime Minister that he should step down for the sake of the Labour Party.

Dale, not normally known for publishing uncorroborated stories, says the conversation went like this:

Brown: Will you be my Home Secretary?
Reid: No
Brown: You have to support me.
Reid: No I don’t. I have to support my country and my party, and that means you have to stand down.

Meanwhile, it is now widely known that both the Chancellor and the Foreign Secretary have indicated their desire to stay in their current posts. Alistair Darling may even refuse other cabinet positions if he is removed from the Treasury.

If Darling is indeed shuffled and replaced with Ed Balls, the perceived cronyism could mean the PM faces a PLP increasingly hostile to his leadership.