Brown ally warns of dangers of disputed leadership

Tuesday, 27 September 2005 12:00 AM

The failure to ensure a smooth leadership transfer in the Labour party could cost them power, a close ally of Gordon Brown said last night.

Ed Balls, the former chief economic advisor to the Treasury, warned that Labour could not win a fourth term unless it was firmly united behind Tony Blair's successor.

Not mentioning Mr Brown by name, he told a fringe meeting at the Labour party conference in Brighton: "We need a commitment for orderly and unified transfer.

"If we don't, then we won't have renewal and we will pay a very high price for that."

But Mr Balls, recently elected MP for Normanton, insisted that the party was well on course for this to happen, claiming it was united and could "pull it off" without falling into internal dispute.

The Conservatives in the late 1980s and Labour in the post-war period were a stark reminder of how a badly managed changeover could thrust a party into years opposition, he said.

His comments came only hours after Mr Brown received a rapturous response to his conference speech, in which he set out a vision that stretched far beyond that of chancellor and firmly placed him in the running to succeed Mr Blair.

A host of Labour ministers were wheeled out at the weekend to endorse Mr Brown, and at last night's meeting, education secretary Ruth Kelly added her voice.

She reiterated Mr Ball's confidence in a smooth transition, insisting that the cabinet and party were "completely united" in a way that they had not been for decades.

"There has never been a time in our history when we were so united in our principles," she said, citing the cabinet's commitment to public service ethic as one example.

David Miliband was more guarded, however, telling the same fringe meeting that ideas were the real concern in planning for a fourth Labour victory.

"In an interdependent world, we need a modern, progressive party," he said, adding: "It's the ideas that drive us - we need to focus on the needs of the people."

This emphasis on making policies that "speak" to people was high on Mr Miliband's agenda for a fourth general election victory, and he insisted part of this involved returning power into the hands of the public.

Describing the empowerment debate as "profoundly serious", he warned: "When people get powerless they get angry, and they turn to extremism. You only need to look at Oldham to see that."

For a list of Opinion Former fringe events at the Labour conferenceclick here.

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