Labour in turmoil over Milburn row Last updated at 12 September Labour infighting continued today over the appointment of Alan Milburn to the Cabinet that has exacerbated the bitter division between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. While Steven Byers backed the appointment and delivered a veiled attack on the Chancellor, both Mark Seddon and Kate Hoey expressed their disquiet at the move.
Stephen Byers, a close ally of Labour's new policy supremo Alan Milburn, today issued a warning to Cabinet members not to allow their personal ambitions to get in the way of a third general election victory. In comments which many will see as being directed at Chancellor Gordon Brown, former Transport Secretary Stephen Byers warned that anyone who put their own ambitions ahead of the needs of the party would "pay a very high personal price".
His intervention came following a bruising reshuffle last week, in which Mr Brown was widely seen to have been wounded by Mr Milburn's seizure of control over policy development for the upcoming election manifesto. Mr Byers denied he was specifically referring to Mr Brown, insisting that his warning was intended for "anybody to whom it applies". But he poured fuel on the reshuffle row by openly hailing Mr Milburn as a potential future Labour leader and Prime Minister - a position which Mr Brown has long regarded as his by right.
Speaking on GMTV's The Sunday Programme, Mr Byers said: "There is one important message for everybody around the Cabinet table to take, which is this: Milburn: Labour Party must come first "Anybody that puts personal ambition ahead of the needs of the Labour Party and this Labour Government and, most importantly, the communities and people out there who need a Labour Government delivering for them, they will pay a very high personal price.
There are all sorts of people who see themselves as potential leaders of the party, believe me. I think he would be an excellent leader of the Labour Party and an excellent Prime Minister, but I am not sure Alan has even begun to think about these things. The Chancellor has been viewed as Mr Blair's anointed heir since their Granita deal, when he reportedly secured a promise that the leadership would eventually be handed over to him in return for his agreement not to stand in the race to succeed the late John Smith.
