Two former cabinet Ministers who are calling for a leadership election to clear the air are deluding themselves that a contest would help the Government’s fortunes says Pendle MP, Gordon Prentice.

Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt say they want a ballot of MPs to settle, in their own words "once and for all", questions about Gordon Brown’s leadership.

Speaking from Westminster, the MP said: "The reasons advanced by Geoff Hoon and Particia Hewitt seem to me to be complete baloney. This is more about sour grapes and thwarted ambition."

"There will be a lot of flapping of wings but this bird won’t fly."

"Brown, for all his reported faults, has a grasp of economics and a world view that Cameron cannot begin to match."

The Pendle MP was one of the few Labour MPs not to nominate Brown for the leadership of the Labour Party when Tony Blair stood down in 2007 saying he wanted a contest. Brown was elected leader unopposed. At the time the MP said the Party’s rules were far too restrictive, requiring nominations from over 40 MPs just to get a candidate’s name on the ballot paper.