"Concerted campaign" against Brown

Although those Labour MPs who oppose Gordon Brown appear to be small in number at the moment, it is clear that they have a "drip, drip" approach to trying to unsettle other Labour MPs in to joining their calls for the Prime Minister to go.

The strategy, with MP Joan Ryan today joining those "coming out" as opposing Brown seems to be that each MP in their group will make an announcement each day in an attempt to create momentum and encourage other to join them.

Will it work ? According to the BBC, although there is a concerted campaign, they believe that there are only 12 Labour MPs who are willing to sign a nomination paper for an opponent to face Brown, and although Charles Clarke (3653 votes majority ), Siobhain McDonagh (majority 12,560 votes), and Joan Ryan (majority 1920 votes) have nailed there colours to the mast, by the time the Labour conference starts, they may have run out of rebels.

The most interesting of those who have so far come out against Brown is Siohain McDonagh, whose 12,560 vote majority seems safe in even the most extreme of Labour defeats, but perhaps that is a sign of the fear in the Labour Party's own ranks that someone with a seemingly safe 12,560 vote majority may itself be vulnerable.