British PM's job at stake after triple whammy of defeats

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

LONDON (AFP) — The whiff of rebellion is in the air in Britain after the third crushing by-election loss in as many months by the governing Labour Party of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, reviving talk of replacing him.

An anonymous briefing campaign against Brown looks well under way, with unnamed senior ministers telling the media he must either fight back effectively or fall on his sword.

Barely a year into the job he coveted for so long, many political commentators agree the 57-year-old is now facing a battle for survival and has until Labour's annual conference on September 20 to reverse party fortunes.

"All talk now is not if, but when, an attempt is made to unseat him," the Daily Mail's political editor wrote in one typical article Saturday.

But...