Senior Labour MPs tell Prime Minister: Get a grip in 2008

Published on Sunday 30 December 2007 21:24

SENIOR Labour figures have told Gordon Brown to "get a grip" on government and show his administration has not run out of steam for 2008, after a disastrous end to 2007 left the Tories ahead in the opinion polls.

Jack Straw, Tessa Jowell, David Miliband and Stephen Byers called on the Prime Minister to stamp his authority on the country as Tory leader David Cameron pledged to set the agenda in the 12 months ahead, branding the current Westminster administration "hopeless and incompetent".

Mr Brown himself warned of a challenging New Year in the face of "global financial turbulence" as the latest opinion poll brought mixed messages for him and Labour.

The YouGov survey at the weekend showed that 58 per cent of the 1,566 people polled thought that the Prime Minister was doing a fairly or very bad job of running the country. But the Tory lead had narrowed sharply to just five points against 13 a fortnight ago.

Labour was up 3 per cent to 35, the Conservatives down five to 40 and the Liberal Democrats under new leader Nick Clegg up one to 15. But Mr Brown faced calls from ministers and former ministers to fulfil the promise of his New Year message that 2008 would see "real and serious changes" for the better in the UK.

Lord High Chancellor and Justice Secretary Mr Straw – seen at Westminster as the effective Deputy Prime Minister – warned that the Conservative campaign is striking a chord with the public and the government must adapt in order to survive. He said that the government had faced difficulties in recent months that must be put right.

And in a rare admission by such a senior minister, he acknowledged Mr Cameron may have benefited from the government's recent woes and that his messages appeared to be "resonating with voters".

Ministers have previously sought to dismiss the Tory leader as lacking in substance.

Mr Straw, who ran Mr Brown's leadership campaign, said the key for Labour was showing the public that it was making "decisions that are relevant to their futures and not just resting on our laurels".

He said: "All periods are crucial in government – we're up to two-and-a-half years before the next election, which is a long time – but for sure we have got to make clear progress and everybody understands that."

Olympics minister Tessa Jowell – a key ally of former Prime Minister Tony Blair – said the faultline under Mr Brown's transition from strong new leader to trailing Mr Cameron in the polls was his dithering over an autumn General Election: "It was the right decision, but it would have been better had it not run as long as it did."

She said that while there was "no quick fix" to the government's problems, Mr Brown had to "stand firm and be confident", relate to people's "core values" and be "authentic" to regain the political initiative.

Mrs Jowell added that he had to "establish himself as an authoritative, forward-looking Prime Minister that the people of this country can feel safe with".

Former Cabinet minister Mr Byers reinforced the message and said that Labour had to rally round Mr Brown.