Howarth cements the truce

The declaration by George Howarth, the Labour MP for Knowsley North and Sefton East, that “hostilities are over” may not resonate outside the Westminster village but it is highly significant for Gordon Brown’s chances of survival. A Privy Councillor, former junior minister, and select committee stalwart, Howarth is precisely the sort of middle-ranking parliamentarian, little known outside the Commons, who can light the touchpaper that leads to huge political events.

In September he wrote unequivocally in the Independent:

“I am a loyal supporter of Labour and our Government, so it may be surprising that I believe we now need to have a leadership contest. I nominated Gordon during last year’s leadership process and genuinely wanted him to do well as Prime Minister. We have to act now to rebuild the support we have lost over the last year because the country cannot afford to sleepwalk into a Tory government. This is particularly true for constituencies like mine, which was devastated the last time the Conservatives were in power.”