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The Labour Party took a break from its public bloodletting today as voters across the UK delivered their verdict in local and European elections.

Hostilities over Gordon Brown's future as party leader were officially suspended at 7am when polling began for the UK's 72 seats at the European Parliament. Voters will also elect 2,138 local councillors and three mayors.

The final opinion polls suggested that Labour could receive the worst drubbing in its history. A YouGov survey for The Daily Telegraph showed it trailing the UK Independence Party in the European vote and battling the Liberal Democrats for fourth place.

In the local council elections, Labour faces another rout and the loss of some of its last remaining strongholds in the Midlands and North.

The results of the European vote are not due until Sunday but normal politics – if such a thing still exists – resumes at 10pm, when polling booths close and many MPs will no longer fear the accusations of disloyalty if they question the Prime Minister's future.

Both sides know, however, that the window of opportunity will be brief. After four ministerial resignations this week, the Prime Minister is widely expected to bring forward a reshuffle originally planned for next Monday to reassert his authority and get his premiership back on track.

The rebels – especially the small, as yet unidentified group behind the so-called "Hotmail plot" – will also be busy. They are expected to send an e-mail across the Parliamentary Labour Party tomorrow canvassing support for a motion of no-confidence against Mr Brown.

The Prime Minister continued last night with plans to shake up his Government and was preparing to bring Ed Balls into the Treasury despite indications from friends of Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, that Mr Darling was reluctant to move.

In a sign of the febrile atmosphere, Downing Street was forced to deny claims that Mr Brown had asked John Reid, the former Home Secretary, whether he wanted the job back.

Party whips are braced for ministers to unleash fierce attacks on Mr Brown after the polls close tonight. They have been warned that a fifth minister may walk out over the coming days.

The message to Mr Brown, which MPs are being asked by e-mail to sign, reads: “Dear Gordon, Over the last 12 years in Government, and before, you have made an enormous contribution to this country and the Labour Party and this is very widely acknowledged.

“However we are writing now because we believe that in the current political situation you can best serve the interests of the Labour Party by stepping down as Party Leader and Prime Minister, so allowing the Party to choose a new Leader to take us into the next general election.”

The MPs are assured that the names of signatories will not be published unless a target of 50 is reached.

Nick Brown, the Labour Chief Whip, said that he believed that those behind the e-mail were Blairites such as Stephen Byers and Alan Milburn. He said that they had been joined by “eccentric individualists” such as the backbenchers Graham Stringer, Graham Allen and Paul Farrelly. The latter categorically denied the claim on the BBC2 Newsnight programme.

Ms Blears’s resignation yesterday, on the eve of the elections, was a gift to the Opposition. David Cameron said that the fourth ministerial resignation in two days showed that the Government was “collapsing before our eyes”. Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, told MPs: “Labour is finished.”

One former minister said that there was huge desire within the party for a change of leadership, but MPs were waiting to see whether a heavyweight challenger would come forward. Alan Johnson remains favourite.

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