Brown defiant amid fresh criticisms

Labour seeks to restore discipline after attacks on Gordon Brown.

Labour will seek to restore discipline to the party ranks after another bruising day of internal attacks on Gordon Brown's leadership.

Ministers and MPs have been ordered to travel to Crewe to campaign for next week's by-election amid serious fears of another poll battering on top of disastrous local election results.

The push was revealed after a day of bitter exchanges between senior ministers and 10p tax rebel Frank Field who predicted the Prime Minister would be ditched before the next election.

Schools Secretary Ed Balls, Mr Brown's closest lieutenant, branded the former minister a loner and questioned the motive behind his attacks.

The timing was particularly damaging, coming on top of disclosures in memoirs by senior figures such as John Prescott, Cherie Blair and Lord Levy and gloomy poll figures.

It also added weight to Tory leader David Cameron's claim that the party was "beginning to resemble a sort of bizarre soap opera".

At Monday night's weekly meeting of Parliamentary Labour Party, MPs and peers were said to be frustrated at the "self indulgent" in-fighting and keen for disciplinary action.

Deputy leader Harriet Harman addressed the meeting where she said all MPs and ministers would be expected to help secure the election of Tamsin Dunwoody in Crewe and Nantwich. She is defending the 7,000-plus majority of her mother, Gwyneth Dunwoody, who died last month.

The Treasury would not be drawn on reports it would reveal more on Tuesday about its plans to compensate low-paid workers and pensioners hit by the abolition of the 10p rate.

Mr Field led the revolt which forced the Government into an about-turn on the issue, but in a surprisingly frank attack, Mr Balls suggested people might not take his campaign "at face value".