More sign of Labour support ebbing away

The front page of this morning's Independent carries the critisim of Gordon Brown by the TUC General secretary Brendon Barber.

In comments that illustrate just how much Labour's core support is drifting way,the paper reporting

Calling on New Labour to "reconfigure its DNA", he said the party "has not been clear about what it wants to be – and where it now wants to go", adding that "the support base that Labour brought together in 1997 needs convincing that the party is on their side and fairness must once again be asserted".

He continues

Citing errors he believes the Government has made, Brendan Barber pointed to its dealings with public servants over pay and the pace of public service reform, saying that this has led to "difficult industrial disputes with public service unions determined to battle hard to defend living standards. Labour is paying a heavy political price as six million public servants sense that the Government, far from being on their side, just sees them as an easy target".

These are cutting and damaging remarks for the Prime Minister,Peter Hoskin writing on Coffee House says

It's becoming increasingly difficult to see who Brown's allies are. The unions don't like him; business doesn't like him; huge swathes of his party don't like him; and it seems voters aren't too keen either. In such a poisonous atmosphere, Brown hanging to his position would be some feat of endurance. Or stubborness.