CABINET ministers were last night being urged to force Gordon Brown from office after 10 former government members publicly demanded a leadership contest. Following the dramatic sacking of Siobhain McDonagh as a government whip, a string of senior Labour figures yesterday added their voices to the calls for a formal party ballot. Barry Gardiner, a special envoy for Brown, said it was time for a leadership contest because “the public has stopped listening to Gordon Brown” and he is “not a popular prime minister”. A coalition of up to a dozen senior MPs has now demanded that Labour send out leadership nomination papers before the annual party conference starts next weekend in Manchester. The rebel challenge has received private support from serving ministers, including one cabinet minister who said it was the only way of forcing Brown from office.
