Brown has failed. Harman should resign. A joint AJ/DM ticket is required

The scene in the Commons sums up the week.  Labour MPs have lost interest.  His strategy for the autumn fightback is in tatters.  Brown’s failure is complete.

The Labour party is short of money and has fallen back on protecting the core vote.  The polls have failed to move and there is little evidence that a hung parliament is possible under Brown’s leadership.  His economic policy lacks credibility.  Brown has yet again misjudged the issue of MPs expenses.  The Queen’s Speech was too clever by half with badly thought through policy announcements that have been criticised from within the Labour party.

Now, we turn to Afghanistan.  Brown is appealing to Labour MPs by e-mail as he attempts to head off a backbench rebellion.  Frank Field, who could well play a key role in any attempt to remove Brown, has said:

We don't want an email. We want a debate. There's not a member that doesn't grow more disturbed by the scenario unfolding before us in Afghanistan. Even if some of them do not wish to change policy, there's widespread and deep unease among the Parliamentary Labour Party.

Which brings us neatly on to the PLP elections.  As discussed, there was unlikely to be a move against Brown at the PLP but the mood music has changed again since the weekend.  Barry Sheerman has now dropped his plans to stand as a “Brown must go” candidate.  However, there may well be a token challenge and it could come from Parmjit Dhanda, the MP sacked by Brown last year.

One way or another the leadership issue has to be settled.  Brown has failed and even if Labour MPs have given up, the Cabinet has to act.

A joint AJ/DM ticket would be ideal because Labour will also need a new deputy on the back of Harriet Harman’s local difficulty.  The mechanics of how this is organised are secondary to what needs to be done if Labour is deny the Tories a majority at the next election.