One of the Labour Party’s most senior figures backed Ed Miliband’s leadership while in Middlesbrough last night - but warned the party must ‘pull together’ to win next year's election.
Douglas Alexander MP, who is in charge of Labour’s General Election strategy, was on the Question Time panel at the Town Hall.
Speaking on the BBC 1 programme, Mr Alexander said: “[Ed Miliband] has got challenges, but all of us have got challenges in every political party.
“Every one of us in the Labour Party has to reflect the reality that divided parties lose elections and we have got a profound responsibility to the people who want to get away from the mistakes, the errors, the sheer injustice of this coalition government to pull together, to offer credible change in the face of these tough economic times, and that’s exactly what we plan to do.”
Two of the most senior members of Ed Miliband’s shadow cabinet have angrily denied claims they were in secret negotiations over what to do if the Labour Party leader quits.
Yvette Cooper and Andy Burnham - among the leading candidates to take over in the event of a vacancy - were reported by The Times to have struck a “non-aggression pact”.
Both denied the suggestion.
The claim came after Mr Miliband was forced publicly to deny reports that several backbenchers had demanded his resignation amid concerns over the Opposition’s prospects of victory at next year’s general election.
Former cabinet minister David Blunkett sought to calm the atmosphere, calling for an end to “this bout of political insanity”.
But Lord Soley, who as an MP chaired the parliamentary party, issued a bleak vision of the party’s general election prospects and suggested Mr Miliband should take a less prominent role as he was not seen by voters as a “charismatic potential prime minister”.
A poll, by YouGov for LBC radio, found that nearly half (49%) of people surveyed believed Labour’s chances of returning to power would be improved if Mr Miliband was replaced.
Joining Mr Alexander on the panel were former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy, Conservative MP Brandon Lewis, journalist Melanie Phillips and comedian Matt Forde.
