'One of a team' Brown brushes off failed coup and rallies Labour MPs

The Prime Minister, who last night addressed the first meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) since last week's attempt to oust him, emphasised his commitment to working closely with his team of Ministers on the forthcoming election campaign.

"I am not a team of one, I am one of a team," he told the meeting, according to aides who were present.

Neither Geoff Hoon nor Patricia Hewitt, the two former Cabinet Ministers who issued a round robin letter calling for a secret ballot on his leadership, attended the meeting. Two prominent backbench critics of Mr Brown – former Home Secretary Charles Clarke and Huddersfield MP and select committee chairman Barry Sheerman – were there, although neither spoke.

Aides said those backbenchers who did speak were "unanimously angry" at the attempt to oust Mr Brown.

The crushing effects of the aborted coup on Labour's fledgling resurgence were confirmed last night in a new opinion poll which showed the party in its worst position since early autumn.

The Times poll, undertaken over the weekend, put Labour on 28 points, down two since early December and its lowest rating since September 2009. The Conservatives were up three points on 41 per cent, their highest rating since the autumn, and the Liberal Democrats were down one on 19 per cent.

There was better news for Mr Brown on a personal level, however, with his own poll ratings having apparently been boosted following the failed coup.

The gap between Mr Brown and Conservative leader David Cameron had narrowed over several key issues, while just 12 per cent of Labour voters said they could think of an alternative Labour politician who would make a better leader.