Straw considered Brown challenge
Former Labour minister Jack Straw has admitted he considered mounting a leadership challenge against Gordon Brown when he was prime minister.
Mr Straw told BBC Radio 3 today he could have been an “effective prime minister”, and suggested that Mr Brown himself had recognised that he was ill-suited for the premiership.
“Senior people in the Cabinet were talking about this all the time, and tragedy was that we’d realised – but so did Gordon – that this job, for which he’d become obsessed and devoted his life was a job that he couldn’t properly do, he just lacked the fundamental qualities to do it.”
The former Foreign Secretary said he had discussed a leadership challenge with David Miliband, Alan Johnson, and Harriet Harman, but they decided against the move because of the “chaos” it would cause.