Gordon Brown would have been delighted with the manifold pledges of loyalty as party members and local councillors spilled on to the street outside West Ham town hall on Sunday, after a hastily convened session to demonstrate the prime minister’s connection to the grassroots.

Less welcome would have been the number who said the crisis at the top of the Labour party had proved an unwelcome distraction from the task of fighting local and European elections and urged MPs and ministers to focus on winning the next election.