DAVID Miliband yesterday insisted he was not "campaigning" for leadership of the Labour party – but refused to rule himself out of any future contest.
He was speaking after writing a newspaper article about the party's future, which made no mention of Gordon Brown and suggested that the government needed to offer "real change", provoking a storm of speculation about his motives.
He insisted he h
ad been prompted by the sense of "fatalism" in the party after its defeat in the Glasgow East by-election.
Denying claims he had 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 news conference in London, he also said Mr Brown 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," Mr Miliband said.
Rumours of a possible coup against the Prime Minister have reached fever pitch at Westminster, with several back-benchers openly calling for him to quit and many others expressing their anger in private.
Mr Miliband yesterday refused to rule himself out of any leadership contest. But he said: "I'm not campaigning for anything other than a successful Labour government.
"I think that my article today was a challenge to David Cameron and not a challenge to Gordon Brown."
He said he believed the future of the country depended on a clear policy agenda based on strong values.
"Does Gordon Brown have those values and that vision? Yes."
He went on: "Gordon's leadership, I think, is one that has shown itself to be of strong values. It is one that has shown itself to have built a team around him that are able to make a contribution, and that is a good thing."
Earlier, he said he believed Mr Brown would view his Guardian article as a "contribution" to the revival of the government.
However, he declined to say Mr Brown was the only person who could lead the government through the current economic turbulence.
According to government sources, No10 has reacted with fury to the timing and tone of Mr Miliband's article – which came while Mr Brown was on holiday in Suffolk.
Many Labour back-benchers believe Mr Miliband must have realised the effect it would have, and that was trying to "put himself out there" should a vacancy for the top job arise.
However, few think he will mount a formal challenge.
Tony Lloyd, the chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party, did not accept Mr Miliband had necessarily broken ranks with his article, which he described as "totally non-controversial".
The former Cabinet minister Peter Mandelson admitted Labour was "in some flux" and said it would be surprising if someone such as Mr Miliband "didn't address the challenges the government is facing".
Harriet Harman, Labour's deputy leader, reiterated her case that she was not planning a leadership bid, saying: "When a woman says no, she means no."
And Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, laughed off suggestions that Labour could be about to replace Mr Brown with someone "young and hip".
She said: "I don't think that's what we want at a time when people are worried about the economy."
