Miliband backs Brown and denies leadership bid

David Miliband offered his backing to British prime minister Gordon Brown yesterday, after provoking a storm of speculation by suggesting the Government needed to offer “real change”.

Denying claims that he has launched a de facto leadership campaign, the foreign secretary insisted: “Gordon Brown is the leader of the Labour party and he will lead us forward to address the big issues.”

Speaking at a press conference, Miliband also said the prime minister had the “values and the vision” to run the country successfully.

“Can Gordon lead us into the next election and win? Yes, I’m absolutely certain about that,” he said.

Rumours about a possible coup against Brown have been growing in Westminster, with several backbenchers openly calling for him to quit and many more expressing anger in private.

Miliband’s article in yesterday’s Guardian newspaper sparked controversy because, despite outlining a detailed vision for Labour’s future, it contained no reference to the prime minister.

He refused to rule himself out of any leadership contest yesterday, but added: “I’m not campaigning for anything other than a successful Labour government.”

Miliband said the piece had been a response to “fatalism” among Labour MPs and the media over the party’s election prospects after the disastrous Glasgow East byelection defeat.

People should be proud of the government’s record while admitting there had been mistakes, he said.

Miliband side-stepped a question over whether Labour would be “mad” to depose Brown, insisting that the “Labour party never does mad things”.

He also declined to say Brown was the only person who could lead the government through the current economic turbulence.