TOLD YOU SO.....

Just watched the BBC News - with Siobhan McDonagh calling for a leadership contest. It's just the start..... One week before Labour Party Conference and the knives are clearly out for Gordon Brown. No coincidence either that the London MP used to work for John Reid.
Reid's own hopes of a leadership bid, you might recall, were well and truly shafted by a dirty tricks device which saw age-old "revelations" being published in the Mail On Sunday shortly before he announced he was throwing in the towel. That particular tale of a drunken lunge on Dawn Primarolo was timed to do maximum damage and stop Reid even thinking of challenging Brown. It did.
Now I didn't have much time for John Reid. Nevertheless, I thought that dredging up some ancient instance of inappropriate drunken behaviour was an outrageous tactic. Well, now the chickens are coming home to roost. As things stand, it's unlikely anyone will get the 70 names they need to challenge an incumbent Prime Minister. However, the bars and reception rooms of the Midland Hotel will still be awash with intrigue.
But let me make it plain to anyone who thinks otherwise. The Calder valley resolution to be debated in 10 days' time is not about attacking Gordon Brown. It is about ensuring there is a fair and honest contest IN THE EVENT OF A VACANCY.
However, this is my prediction. If Labour loses the Glenrothes by-election in October, the pressure on Brown will become unsustainable. He will have to go. All the more reason to have a new rule in place which does not leave any contest as the preserve of New Labour ferrets fighting for their political lives. An open honest debate about principles - not nasty backstabbing .

UPDATE: Daily Telegraph on-line 8.43pm

The Daily Telegraph understands that about a dozen Labour MPs, including several former senior ministers, have asked officials to provide nomination papers for a leadership contest at the party’s conference later this month.
They include Janet Anderson, Kate Hoey, Frank Field, George Howarth, Joan Ryan and Graham Stringer, all former ministers. Jim Dowd, a former whip, has also been involved in the operation, as has Lord Alli, the Labour peer. Former Cabinet ministers close to Tony Blair are also preparing to add to the pressure on Mr Brown with public interventions over the weekend.