A leadership challenge buds

Yesterday I blogged on a rumour that Barry Sheerman MP would put himself forward as a ‘stalking horse’ candidate in a Labour leadership contest.

The decisive point may be when Sheerman, one of Brown’s arch-critics, attempts to win the chairmanship of the Parliamentary Labour Party at the end of the month.

The fact that Sheerman is standing for the role at all is a pretty clear sign to Brown that moves are afoot.

I’m told that Sheerman and any rebels will watch the number of votes that he gets in the chairmanship race to measure whether there is wider appetite for a coup.

If the votes for Sheerman tumble in, then we could see some leadership contest action – though a lot depends on how things go with the Sir Thomas Legg review.

If MPs are continually pushed by Brown to pay up and they are hit with big bills then the PM could be in for trouble.