With the gallows humour that is typical of a political crisis, Westminster is ringing with knowing references to Downfall, the 2004 German film which told the story of Adolf Hitler’s final days in Berlin. The truce that he hoped might allow him time to restablish his authority appears to be over.Mr Brown finds himself out of the country at a critical moment, with members of his Cabinet in revolt.Labour - or more specifically the party's 349 MPs and ministers - are back where they were a few weeks ago, gripped by a mounting fear that a day of reckoning may not be far off that will decide Mr Brown's fate.The Labour jubilation that followed his wife Sarah's surprise appearance and his emotion-laden appeal for a second chance has been replaced by sinking despair. Benedict "Ben" Brogan is a British journalist, formerly Deputy Editor and chief political commentator of The Daily Telegraph. Basking in the aftermath of the 'Sarah and Gordon' show, the Prime Minister's allies went to bed confident that his double act with his wife had at least bought him some time.They could not have imagined that a night of drink-fuelled confusion in Manchester would leave his Cabinet in turmoil and risk wiping out any gains from his remarkable conference speech.He flew to New York yesterday afternoon leaving behind him angry Cabinet ministers who believe Ruth Kelly's sudden resignation was forced by a brutal Downing Street attempt to flush out Blairite traitors in the ranks.Fight for survival: Ruth Kelly's resignation plunged Gordon Brown's leadership into fresh chaos after his speech appeared to pull him back from the brinkIt is an explosive charge, which Number 10 denies, but such is the poison now contaminating relations at the very heart of Labour that to some, it appears truth no longer matters.In reply Mr Brown's supporters allege that his enemies in Cabinet are running a deliberate and ruthless campaign to destabilise his leadership and precipitate a final crisis that will oust him from power.What is clear is that even some of Labour's most senior figures have have dumped rational thought in favour of panic, suspicion and revenge. 'Dirty tricks': Rumours are swirling about whether Ruth Kelly jumped or was pushed. The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson was said to have informed Downing Street that he intended to report the next morning that Miss Kelly was quitting after being approached by other ministers plotting Mr Brown's downfall. By Benedict Brogan for MailOnline Updated: 06:19 EDT, 24 May 2008 . How NBCUniversal exec Ron Meyer, who stepped down after affair with actress was exposed, blew $100M of his fortune gambling, lost up to $7M in one night and chartered helicopters to go casino-hoppingFort Hood commander Maj. 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In December 2014, six months after resigning his posts at The Telegraph in June 2014, Brogan was appointed group director of public affairs at Lloyds Banking Group. [2] 'The fact is we all know Gordon cannot change, that he is a divisive, tribalist politician who cannot get on with his colleagues. Ministers complain that there is no trusted heavyweight political figure at Mr Brown’s side to advise him and help him avoid pitfalls in the way that Alastair Campbell and Jonathan Powell supported Tony Blair. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, One survey last night suggested his conference performance had cut the Tory lead to ten points - but it was conducted before the acrimony triggered by Miss Kelly's departure.As so often in this unfolding drama, it seems incredible to think that Labour could jettison Mr Brown without an obvious alternative or a hint that a new leader would make a difference. It happened to Alan Turing, as he lay on his back in Grantchester Meadows, wondering how to … By Benedict Brogan . Another warned: ‘Gordon’s tank is empty. Two days before, the Prime Minister and his key advisers had been given an astonishingly accurate prediction of how the votes in Crewe and Nantwich would fall.
By Benedict Brogan, Political Editor for MailOnline Updated: 05:08 EDT, 25 September 2008 Yesterday Mr Brown carried on with the daily duties of a Prime Minister, including official visits and a sensitive meeting with the Dalai Lama, before heading to Scotland on a family break.