Labour will regroup with dignity, insists David Blunkett

Mr Blunkett, MP for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, said he believed David Cameron and Nick Clegg would be able to "cobble together an agreement".

Gordon Brown would "do the right thing" in such an event, he said.

He told Sunday Live on Sky News that the Labour party needed to "regroup, renew, to look to the future and that's what we would clearly have to do if this coalition is put together by David Cameron."

He said: "I think we could do so with great dignity. As I say, I trust Gordon Brown to do the right thing."

Yesterday Mr Brown faced pressure to resign from two Labour MPs - former minister Kate Hoey, MP for Vauxhall, and Bassetlaw MP John Mann.

But Mr Blunkett said it was "not appropriate" for colleagues to call for Mr Brown's resignation at this time.

He said: "I'm absolutely certain that Gordon Brown will do the right thing, I trust him to do the right thing.

"On Friday afternoon he did the right thing, I thought he showed statesmanship in terms of indicating that he would continue as Prime Minister because we need a government in place, we need a Prime Minister in place, we can't have a total vacuum."

Asked whether Mr Brown should stand down if a Tory-Lib Dem deal was struck, he added: "I think in a scenario you've outlined, I repeat again I trust Gordon Brown to make the right decisions."

Mr Blunkett said he hoped there would be an agreement, "whoever it in the end takes place with", that was in the "best interests of the British people".

He said he was "slightly bewildered" by the differences on economic policy between the Lib Dems and Conservatives. Mr Clegg needed to be aware that the Tories planned a "massive cutback retrenchment programme".

A stable government that was strong on the economy was "much more important than some squabble over the voting system", he added.

Mr Mann repeated his call for Mr Brown to stand down, telling Sky News: "It would be suicidal for the Labour party to have a possible election this October or November with Gordon Brown still as leader.

"What I'm saying is by our September conference, we need a new leader leading the Labour party, not Gordon Brown."

There was no way Liberal Democrats would "prop up" Labour with Mr Brown at the helm, he said.

"In the real world, Nick Clegg would be crucified if he propped up Gordon Brown and Gordon Brown's unpopularity was a key factor in this election.

"That's the reality."

Labour former minister Malcolm Wicks said the party needed to accept that it had lost the election and prepare for opposition.

Mr Wicks, MP for Croydon North, told the Press Association: "The Labour party has to be grown up about this. We've suffered a major electoral setback and we've just got to take it on the chin.

"Any prospect of a Labour government staying in power with support from the Liberals in a ragbag coalition depending on assorted nationalists is I think ridiculous.

"I don't think that appeals to common sense, neither in my judgment would it be accepted by public opinion. We have lost.

"I think we need to accept the logic of this and we need to prepare ourselves for a dignified and principled opposition."

The former energy minister added: "I think it would look very, very shabby for us to be seen hanging on to the doorknob of Number 10."

He declined to comment on whether Mr Brown should resign.