Gordon Brown was on Wednesday night locked in a battle of wills with his two most senior ministers over a cabinet reshuffle, and could face a backbench revolt against his leadership if Thursday’s local and European elections are as disastrous as expected for the Labour party.
Alistair Darling, chancellor, wants to stay in his job, with his cabinet allies hoping that the prime minister may now be too weak to replace him with Ed Balls, the abrasive schools secretary.
