Since they love him so much Labor can have Obama and we can keep a real leader in McCain.

Juan Venadito, Atlanta, CA

Many Tories might say ruefully that 1992 would have been a good election to lose. Might not hindsight say the same about 2009/10?

nick, leeds, w yorks

I notice Cameron was shopping for 'salad'. Has 'organic' peaked?

John Ledbury, Kings Lynn, England

It used to be said that a liberal was a conservative who'd just been arrested. Today, a Tory is a Labour-voter who's been demonised, targetted, and told to shape-up or ship-out by an army of finger-pointing single-issue fascist zealots. That means just about all of us. Labour haven't got a prayer.

Ken Leyland, Liverpool, UK

Gordon Brown would regain popularity overnight if he publicly asked Tony Blair whether he had discussed the possibility of Euan joining up and fighting in the wars he, Blair, believed in so passionately, and if he would donate anything from his US lecture millions to the Army Benevolent Fund.

Rob bryant, Bromley, England

The Labour MP's currently in Westminster will be loathe to draw the dagger from the sheath as that will be curtains for them. Hence the paralysis will continue and the trough emptied and I will be surprised if any Brownites will bother to attend Westminster as we approach the end of this comic farce

Nick Dixon, Sutton Coldfield, England

I'm going to ask the bookies for a price on an October election

peter c, devizes, wessex

Hello Matthew

I was wondering whether it is Gordon who is so unpopular or the New Labour project. If he is bearing the brunt of eleven years of increasing frustration and anger with the spin driven divide between promise and reality then your elegant analysis goes down the proverbial pan.

Marek, London,

How alarming to see Brown beaming at the camera as if he is unaware of the mess he and his government have made of this country in the last eleven years. This is further compunded by his muttering the inane mantra of "getting on with the job". That is precisely the problem for the nation.

Greg Smith, Bath, England

Matthew's right, but I doubt whether Brown’s colleagues have the stomach to do the right thing.

My guess they will take the coward's way out: the paralysis option.

Something much more significant needs to occur to reach the Chamberlain moment.

Gilbert Lewis, London, UK

Brown will go, Labour will lose the next election, and the Tories will govern. It all seems inevitable.
Then will begin the process of disengagement from Europe so desired by the all powerful Eurosceptics.
Britain will be as irrelevant in the world as Blair is today. A disaster in the making

Nick Moore, St Ouen, France

Brown will walk the plank to its brink just as Callaghan and Major did when they were up against it. That's what our self-interested political parties do.

John Steggles, Bury St Edmunds, England

I disagree that a Clarke or Milburn is unlikely to mount a challenge. As they say in snooker it is a shot to nothing. The stumbling block is 70 MPs in the open against Brown. A Blairite heavy challenge with a sweep of this disastrous cabinet may offer the only opportunity for Labour in 2010.

Tony Gee, London,

So 'paralysis is a respectable option'? Maybe it is for this incompetent and corrupt government but what about the country? Two more years of NuLabour will complete the demolition job on Great Britain.

Graham, Gaillac, France

Yesterday I read of shopkeepers fined £300 and threatened with criminal convictions, for putting their rubbish out in the wrong coloured bag!!! This government has turned the country into a police state where we are spied on and bullied by hordes of little Hitlers. Labour get off our back and go.

Jerome Healy, London,

Brown is safe because those gutless labour MPs will do anything they can to keep their noses in the trough for as long as possible.

Ian, London, UK

No, Matthew, it's not just Brown who is disliked. They are all GHASTLY, particularly Balls, Milibands (both) , Harman and Flint. We all remember Blair (and Cherie!!!) and Prescott very clearly.

Betty Stringer, Bungay, England

Why have you adopted American spelling ("honorable")? Is this part of the Conservative Party's image remake? If Labour chose a half-sensible leader who was percieved as putting the country back on the right tracks of governance, they could still defeat Dodgy Dave.

Gervas Douglas, Erts, Andorra

The SNP man was pro-life and against the embryology bill and other nasty anti-family/marriage legislation this government has passed.If labour wants the votes of family men like me,he must sack Harman, Primarolo and reing in the influence of the Gay rights lobby.See the christian institute websight.

raymond joseph douglas, northampton, uk

Don t forget that the Cabinet is composed almost entirely of horribly patronising and frighteningly mediocre nobs.
Brown is not the only problem - the cabal has to go with him.

dhr, cardiff, uk

This government has spent the last decade telling organisations to improve services by being sensitive to public opinion. If this government does not resign with opionion polls in the low 20% range is this evidence of one rule for ministers and one rule for everybody else?

Yealand Kalfayan, Bristol,

People's disdain for Brown stems from the fact that he never faced election for party leader and then funked facing the electorate. He believed he had a divine right to leadership, but he didn't have the courage to face a challenge. How can anyone respect someone so gutless and indecisive?

Keith Daniels, Alicante, Spain

I think Matthew Paris has a point: political affiliations aside, this is about integrity; a new Labour Leader can call an election and get credit at least for giving the voting public a say in how they want their country governed. Labour will lose an election but not, entirely, its reputation.

R de Bulat, Plymouth, UK

This week a council fined a decorator for smoking in his van. Would this ludicrous act have happened 11 years ago? No, of course not. This government has presided over the utter decline of Britain to the point where we are genuinely worried about banks going bust.

For gods sake, give us an election

David, St Albans, UK

Labour do not assassinate their leaders - remember Neil
Kinnock, they carry on and are generally loyal, the Tories
could learn from this, needing to win they are too ready to
wield the knife. People have just had enough of Labour,
the English did'nt vote Labour anyway, they voted Blair.

Philip, Dorset, England

That's right, replace Brown with another smarmy, Zanu Labour icon, Milliband.

Then we can vote and get rid of him too.

S Patel, Melbourne, Australia

Matthew, the fact that Gordon Brown has been personally responsible for the economy for the last many years, and that it's condition now resembles a car crash before entering the coming recession seems to have been missed in your analysis.
He is going to be held responsible, as are Labour for their porcine greed and and incompetence.

David Martin, Bristol,

The best policy for Labour at this juncture would be to ditch Brown and let a caretaker leader who is willing to make the sacrifice lead the party into an election as soon as possible, limiting the scope and effectiveness of the Tories, their policies not fully formed, and leader inexperienced.

Ross, Toronto, Canada

The Lisbon treaty referendum fiasco shows that the P.L.P. is happy to be bloody minded when trying to prevent disasters inflicted upon it by Joe Public. Why they cannot stomach a similar approach when the threat to their livelihood lies within their ranks is telling. This Government is finished.

Alan, Swindon,

Brown took power under the mantra of "change" - nothing's happened! Blair should never have been replaced and we should have been given the choice between Blair and Cameron in 2009. If Cameron, then Blair would be replaced by Brown in opposition. The US electorate ousts Presidents, not parties!!!

Ben Fox, Aberdare, Wales/UK

The polls are so bad that they may be working in Brown's favour. If they replace him now or in the autumn they would have to call an election because of two unelected PMs. An election under present circumstances would be a rout. Thus they stick with Brown and wait til 2010 hoping for the best.

Paul Owen, Birmingham, UK

If all the next Leader can promise is to "mitigate the rout" then he or she should start to exaggerate the scale of the proposed rout as soon as possible.

jon livesey, Sunnyvale, CA/USA

They won't though we know that - Labour MP's are gutless and only aware of their own jobs.

ian payne, walsall,