BRITAIN: A left-wing Labour MP announced yesterday he would deny Gordon Brown an automatic "coronation" as prime minister by challenging him for the Labour leadership when Tony Blair quits.
John McDonnell, chairman of the Socialist Campaign Group, said he had decided to declare himself as a candidate to force a debate about the party's direction.
The MP for Hayes and Harlington said he feared that, without changes in Labour policies, Tory leader David Cameron would win the next general election. He could not see "any difference" between Gordon Brown's agenda and "what we have at the moment".
"My fear is that if we don't see a change in policy, there will be a smooth transition from Blair to Brown to Cameron," he added.
But Yvette Cooper, minister for communities and local government, said there was no appetite in the Labour Party for Mr McDonnell's leadership bid.
Ms Cooper, wife of Mr Brown's ally Ed Balls, said: "I don't believe this is what the Labour Party wants. We need leadership which will unite the party, not divide it. We need to look forward to the challenges of the future, not back to the politics of the past."