"He (Brown) has to admit that he is a problem and remove himself," Desai said, amidst increased talk inside and outside Labour that the party would lose the next general elections due in 2010 if Brown remained the leader.

He added that since there was no immediate stomach in the party to remove Brown, he needed to change his presentation, style and policies.

"I hope Labour does not lose the (next general election) but to be realistic I expect the party to lose. The only thing is how badly (the party will lose)," Desai told the news agency.

On his part, Brown said after the by-election defeat that he would "get on with the job", and his government had to "listen and hear people's concerns" over rising food and energy costs.

"I think what people want to know is that we understand and we hear their concerns. People are worried every time they go to the petrol station for fuel and worry about the costs... These are concerns that are happening in every other country," Brown said.

"My whole focus and whole task is to take people through difficult times. We've got to listen and hear people's concerns and that's exactly what we are doing. My task is getting on with the job. It's exactly what people want me to do," he added.

Source: By DDNEWS