Party's MPs hail decision to step aside

THE decision by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to step down as Labour leader was welcomed by party MPs last night.

John Mann, the first Labour backbencher to call for him to go on Saturday, hailed it as a "wise and brave" decision.

The Bassetlaw MP said his party now needed to regroup to fight the Tories in opposition.

"We've just lost the election," he said.

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"We've a minority Tory government that wants to make public sector cuts that we need to fight against.

"That's why we needed a new leader to regroup and take on this Tory onslaught on our public services.

"It is the right decision. It allows us to move forward. But we've just lost an election. We need to get real."

Slough MP Fiona Mactaggart, another vocal critic of Mr Brown's leadership, said he had done the "right thing".

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She said: "I understand that the constitutional position is that he remains Prime Minister and that's an issue so he needed to stay on in that role.

"I don't know why it took him until today to say that he felt that there should be a new future leader of the Labour Party. It's a hard decision to make."

Labour's former London mayor Ken Livingstone said: "I think it is good that he has made it clear he is not going to put his own career and ambitions ahead of what is best for the country and the Labour Party.

"I'm not at all surprised that it's been difficult for the Lib Dems to get agreement with the Tories. It's much easier to put together a package between Labour and the Lib Dems."

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Mr Livingstone said that the succession contest would offer "a clear choice between Left and Right – David Miliband will be the candidate of the Right and we are not yet clear whether it will be Ed Balls or Ed Miliband as the candidate of the Left".

Middlesbrough MP Sir Stuart Bell said: "Gordon has been very wise, very sensible and very courageous.".

Former Labour MP Ann Keen, who was Mr Brown's parliamentary aide for seven years, said: "We have lost a great Prime Minister and a great man on the world stage."