REBEL Liverpool MP Jane Kennedy is poised to stand for a key Labour post that could provide a platform for a fresh bid to topple Gordon Brown.
Several dozen unhappy backbenchers – in despair over the Prime Minister's leadership – are urging the Wavertree MP to bid for the chairmanship of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP).
The role would see Ms Kennedy oversee the weekly PLP meetings, where backbenchers can question Mr Brown and other ministers – and tell them where they are going wrong.
A challenge is brewing because of growing frustration that the current chairman, Brown-loyalist Tony Lloyd, is stifling dissent.
Ms Kennedy is being touted as a possible replacement after quitting the Government at the height of the last anti-Brown plot in June, refusing to give a "pledge of loyalty" and warning Labour could cease to exist as a fighting force.
Last night, asked if she would mount a challenge for the PLP leadership, the former environment minister, said: "I'm not ruling it out.
"A few dozen backbenchers – from right across the political spectrum – have encouraged me to stand for election, because they are so frustrated with what is going on.
"They agree with me that the PLP ought to be a forum in which Labour MPs can express their views without fear or favour, yet, increasingly, no notice is being taken of them."
However, Ms Kennedy admitted she was wrestling with fears that the role would drag her away from her constituency – a key Liberal Democrat election target.
She added: "My concern would be that I have a very tough contest in my constituency and I need to devote the maximum amount of time to that contest, to represent my constituents.
"However, Labour needs to win the election for Liverpool's sake – and, to do that, we have to be a credible force."
The odds are on Mr Brown leading Labour into the election, probably in May, primarily because ministers calculate that removing him so close to the poll would harm the party.
Nevertheless, many Labour MPs have arrived back at Westminster seething over the latest expenses' embarrassments, and blaming the Prime Minister for the Legg inquiry that revealed them.
They are also dismayed at Mr Brown's failure to close the poll gaps with the Conservatives.
Ms Kennedy has criticised Mr Brown's leadership style, comparing him with a "Mafia boss" who "might not pull the trigger, but he knows who's getting bumped off".
