In a move likely to provoke the chancellor and his allies, Milburn suggests that other candidates for the party leadership should come forward to fight Brown because no one figure has a “monopoly on wisdom”.
He also implies that the chancellor could become a John Major-like figure if the “headlong rush” for a change of leadership is not accompanied by new policies.
But his comments contrast with fresh interventions by Jack Straw and Peter Hain, two men vying to become deputy leader of the party. This weekend they launched counterstrikes on Blairite “outriders” such as Milburn and Stephen Byers for jeopardising an orderly transition for Brown.
Writing in The Sunday Times, Milburn warns of “electoral catastrophe” if the party fails to hold a full debate on the policies to adopt if Labour is to avoid being outflanked by David Cameron’s Tories.
“Electing a new leader is not a political panacea. Replacing Tony Blair will not in itself renew Labour. Renewal means more than changing the guard,” he writes.
Advertisement
His comments come amid continued speculation over the prime minister’s future in spite of his defiant refusal to name a date for his departure last week, with mounting concern among Labour MPs that the uncertainty is damaging the party in the eyes of voters.
Most Labour MPs believe Brown is the inevitable successor. However, Milburn implies the field should be more open. “It is incumbent on all those with ambitions to lead (or deputy lead) the Labour party not just to throw their hats in the ring but to put ideas on the table. A Trappist vow of silence will not work.”
Those comments will anger Brownites, who will see them as an attack on the chancellor, who has been criticised for keeping a low profile over the Lebanon crisis and the alleged terror plot to blow up transatlantic airliners.
Hain, returning from holiday this weekend, said he does not believe anyone but the chancellor should succeed Blair.
The Northern Ireland secretary told The Sunday Times: “We know that when he is ready to do so, and well before the next election, the prime minister will step down, and Gordon Brown will rightly be the next Labour leader and prime minister. In my view there nobody else could or should beat Gordon.”
Advertisement
In a withering attack on outriders such as Milburn, he claimed politicians on the “marginalised fringes of the party” were putting Labour’s prospects of re-election at risk.
Straw also intervened in what appeared to be a co-ordinated attempt to isolate Blairite supporters. The Commons leader said: “It is profoundly important for the party’s future that we don’t invent ideological or policy divisions where, in truth, they don’t exist.”
Last week Blair sought to end the speculation about when he will quit. In an interview he urged Labour to “stop obsessing” about the subject and insisted he would not bow to pressure to name a date for his departure. He argued he had gone further than any previous prime minister by saying he would not fight the next election and would give his successor “ample time” to settle in.
But his comments served only to provoke back-bench critics. Andrew Smith, the Brownite former minister, warned that the “debilitating uncertainty” over the leadership was bad for the government, the party and Blair.
Even usually loyal MPs questioned Blair’s judgment. Ashok Kumar, a parliamentary aide to Hilary Benn, the international development secretary, said: “I am deeply disappointed by what Tony said. He’s got to think of those of us who have got to fight the next election.”
Advertisement
Some MPs are threatening to send a round-robin letter or a delegation to the prime minister. However, it appeared this weekend that the “plotters” will wait to see how the Labour conference in Manchester at the end of the month unfolds.
Reports yesterday suggested Blair may announce a departure date in April in an attempt to limit Labour’s losses in mid-term elections in May. However, a senior Blair aide said no decision had been made on the timing of an announcement but confirmed he would stand down at some point next year.