Has the endgame already started?

You won’t find many hacks better connected than Trevor Kavanagh so his column today is particularly noteworthy as it assumes that Gordon Brown being told to step down by some of those closest to him is inevitable:

The party won’t have him humiliated by a Cabinet coup, a stalking horse challenge or a showdown with “men in suits”. But senior Labour figures want the issue sorted before the party conference in September.

So . . . who? Both pals and plotters believe there are just two options.
Either Gordon’s family — his wife, Sarah, or brother Andrew — will step in to save this proud man from further torture and urge him to fall on his sword.

Or a group of Cabinet ministers led by Straw will deliver an ultimatum: You go, Gordon . . . or we will.
“It has to be Sarah,” said a friend. “Nobody in this Cabinet has the balls to do it.