With the Labour Government trailing David Cameron's Tories in the polls, the last thing Prime Minister Gordon Brown wanted was more bad news.
That bad news is the news that Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly, who is also the MP for Bolton West, has quit, saying her decision was because she wanted to spend more time with her family. She has a husband and five children, aged 5-11.
However, there are rumours that she decided to quit as she did not like Gordon Brown's speech at the Labour Party Conference in Manchester yesterday.
Will the Labour Party have to get rid of Brown before the next Election (which takes place either in 2009 or 2010) if they want to prevent the Tories getting into power?
The Tory Party Conference takes place in Birmingham next week. They currently lead the Government by 20% in a YouGov poll.
'This is a declaration of war': Ministers accuse Downing Street of forcing Kelly to quit early
By Joe Murphy, Paul Waugh and Nicola Boden
24th September 2008
Daily Mail
Gordon Brown's fightback was plunged into chaos today after Ruth Kelly's resignation from the Cabinet brought Labour's conference to a bombshell close.
The Transport Secretary said she was 'shocked' that her decision to step down quietly in the next reshuffle had been shattered by leaks of her plans.
Fellow Cabinet ministers were furious and her friends pointed an accusing finger at No10 officials for 'outing' her in an extraordinary 3am briefing to bemused reporters.
The bombshell blotted out the success of the Prime Minister’s big speech and disrupted his carefully planned autumn fightback to turn round the polls.
'I quit': Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly with husband Derek Gadd in Manchester today after announcing she is to step down from the Cabinet
Ministers were bewildered why Downing Street staff appeared to have broken the resignation plan at such a critical moment, with some blaming the misjudgment on paranoia around Mr Brown about a possible leadership challenge.
A minister told the Evening Standard: 'Downing Street has pushed out the timing of the announcement for reasons of their own. I have given up trying to understand why they do things like this. It is not helpful.'
The BBC said it had been tipped off last night about Ms Kelly's plans to leave in order to spend more time with her husband and four young children by Number 10 officials.
But it was clear that the minister, a devout Catholic who is known to be unhappy with the Government's proposals to liberalise embryology laws, had not intended to reveal her decision until the upcoming Cabinet reshuffle, now expected late next week.
'I have absolutely no idea [how it emerged]. I was as shocked as anyone when I heard the news,' Ms Kelly said this afternoon.
Amid claims that several members of the Cabinet are ready to march in to demand Mr Brown’s removal, she insisted she was not part of any plot and had made her mind up months ago to quit to spend more time with her family.
Strain: Ms Kelly, pictured here her husband and their children Eamon, Sinead and Roisin back in 2001. She later had a fourth child, Niamh
Meanwhile, Downing Street strongly denied it had proactively released her name amid growing claims of 'dirty tricks' and 'black ops' as allies of the minister feared she had become the latest victim of a campaign to flush out Labour rebels.
Her resignation was leaked and broadcast just before dawn after a frenzied, rumour-filled few hours in Manchester.
Those loyal to the Transport Secretary perceived the move as yet another example of Number 10's drive to take away oxygen from potential leadership challengers.
It wrecked the euphoria following Mr Brown's well-received speech to the party faithful yesterday and ruined a media blitz on the TV and radio stations by him this morning.
Another minister said: 'This is a declaration of war. Downing Street must be stopped.'
While she has never been publicly disloyal, Ms Kelly is said to have been unhappy with the Government's direction under Mr Brown's leadership in recent months.
Her name had also been linked to rumours that several ministers were planning to resign together at the reshuffle and attack Mr Brown's leadership.
Friends claimed she was 'disgusted' after his keynote speech in which he begged for a second chance from the party and voters.
The Tories also said she was overheard branding his speech 'terrible', an allegation she flatly denied today, declaring the address 'brilliant'.
She also denied being part of a coup against the Prime Minister, but refused to answer whether other ministers had approached her to be involved in such a plot.
Asked if the minister had a problem with Mr Brown, her close friend and political commentator Will Hutton said today: 'Well she reads the polls and she is in a marginal constituency. Draw your own conclusions.'
If she has been forced out, it is a hugely risky move that looks set to break last night's uneasy truce after the Prime Minister's keynote speech.
His emotional performance managed to silence some of his critics but he is now forced into a difficult Cabinet reshuffle that threatens to unleash fresh infighting.
'A good friend': Gordon Brown with Ms Kelly at the end of her conference speech today.
Delegrates gave her a standing ovation
There was speculation Ms Kelly could become a dangerous outrider, taking part in a Miliband leadership campaign from the backbenches.
She and Mr Brown put on a public display of unity in Manchester today as the conference came to a close.
The Transport Secretary insisted her reasons for stepping down were 'purely personal' and lauded the Prime Minister as a 'towering figure'.
Departing from her prepared notes, she confirmed it was the last time she would be addressing them as a Cabinet minister and begged them to understand her decision.
'This was not a decision I took lightly. I told Gordon before the summer of my decision to leave the Government for family reasons at the next reshuffle,' she said.
'I was still in my 20s as Labour was given the honour of leading the country - all my children were born under a Labour Government. The past 15 years have been amazing, an at times humbling experience.'
She added: 'It has been a tremendous privilege to have worked with both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown - two towering figures in the Labour Party, Government and on the world stage.
'But as well as a front line politician, I am also proud to be a mother and a wife. To have been able to hold these jobs, I've relied on the support of my husband and my family.
'So I ask for your understanding when I say that I now owe it to my children and family to take a step back and start putting them first. If I do not, then I know that this is something I will come to regret deeply.'
She also declared her confidence Labour would be able to see this country 'through difficult times' but said it 'can and must do better'.
'I am leaving the stage today but I will be with this great party all the way in the battle to keep improving our country,' the minister pledged.
Stern: Ms Kelly (far left), with International Development Douglas Alexander, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling (second from right) and Women's Minister Harriet "Harperson" Harman, during Brown's speech
The Prime Minister described her as a 'good friend' and confirmed she had spoken to him in May about stepping down. He too denied it was related to his leadership.
'Ruth Kelly is a very good friend of mine but she feels the tension of having four young children and wanting to spend time helping them through these difficult years,' he said.
'She's been an MP all the time her children have been born. She is a very talented individual and I think the public will understand these are the things that happen when you have to juggle work and family life.'
Rumours have been circulating for months that Ms Kelly was planning to leave but until today, her aides had refused to confirm them, saying only 'no comment'.
Downing Street and her spokeswoman said they had finally decided to come clean early this morning because of growing reshuffle rumours.
'She wanted to wait until there was the next reshuffle in the Government and obviously this leaked out last night,' Mr Brown said. He denied more resignations would follow.
Number 10 are now once again scrambling to head off a leadership crisis as the Prime Minister prepares to reshuffle his Cabinet next week.
He had been on the verge of postponing it for fear of destroying the progress he had made with his confident performance in Manchester.
Ministers were already in uproar last night after reports emerged, allegedly from Downing Street, that he was preparing to act and considering sending Chief Whip Geoff Hoon to Brussels.
Mr Brown's aides initially denied the claims, only to admit later that Ms Kelly's decision to 'hand in her cards' would force the Prime Minister to make some changes.
He refused to discuss a reshuffle this morning and repeatedly insisted the minister's resignation had nothing to do with questions about his leadership.
The Cabinet is now divided about whether he should use the opportunity to stamp his authority with a sweeping carve-up or restrict himself to moving more junior ministers.
Some of his closest supporters are urging him to purge suspected plotters from the Government but others fear it could backfire spectacularly.
One ministerial aide said: 'Reshuffles that are conceived to send out messages have a terrible record of going disastrously wrong.'
Another insider added: 'The public are worried about their jobs and their mortgages and they would not be impressed if they see us fiddling around with out own job titles.'
Justice Secretary Jack Straw is understood to believe there is no need to alter the current Cabinet because it was last refreshed when Peter Hain resigned in January.
A key decision for Mr Brown will be whether he leaves potential leadership rival Mr Miliband in his post at the Foreign Office or moves him to a less high-profile role.
Mr Miliband defied the tradition that ministers keep quiet and defer to the Premiers' right to patronage today by saying he wanted to stay on.
who denied toning down his speech earlier this week to avoid making it look like he was challenging the Prime Minister, said today he wanted to stay on.
'I'm very happy doing the job I am doing. To represent your country is a fantastic thing to do and I am happy doing that,' he said.
Going on the record to discuss it means that any move Mr Brown makes against him will now be seen as even more of a brutal slap-down to Labour's 'young pretender'.
It had been expected Ms Kelly might resign because of her objections to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.
She and two other Catholic ministers, Des Browne and Welsh Secretary Paul Murphy, voted in favour of banning hybrid human-animal embryos earlier this year.
The Bill is due back before the Commons next month when they will be expected to follow the rules of collective responsibility and vote with the Government.
There were also rumours the minister, who is MP for Bolton West, could lose her post in a Cabinet reshuffle.
Her 2,064 majority makes her seat hugely vulnerable and today she declined to say whether she planned to stay in Parliament after the next election, expected in 2010.
Ms Kelly was first elected to Parliament in 1997 while she was heavily pregnant with her first child - becoming one of Tony Blair's original 'Blair Babes' . She gave birth 11 days later and has since had three more children.
She has been in the Cabinet since December 2004, working as Education Secretary and Communities and Local Government Secretary before moving to Transport.
During her earlier work at the Treasury, she is said to have refused to take a 'red box' of work home with her and to work long hours because of her family.
The minister has been linked to Opus Dei, the devout Catholic group featured in the novel The Da Vinci Code.
Ruth Kelly is the latest in a line of ministers who quit to spend 'more time with the family'.
The phrase becamse a euphemism for frustration since Norman Fowler left the Thatcher Cabinet in 1990 citing it.
Andrew Smith, a Brownite minister, resigned in the final term of Tony Blair to see more of his brood - and because he did not like Mr Blair's welfare reforms.
Alan Milburn chose his family after losing a power battle to Mr Brown.
Now Ms Kelly is to see more of her family - and less of Mr Brown. Tradition suggests she will be happy with both outcomes.
'More time with the family': The phrase became a euphemism for frustration in 1990 when Normal Fowler used it on leaving the Thatcher cabinet
dailymail.co.uk
That bad news is the news that Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly, who is also the MP for Bolton West, has quit, saying her decision was because she wanted to spend more time with her family. She has a husband and five children, aged 5-11.
However, there are rumours that she decided to quit as she did not like Gordon Brown's speech at the Labour Party Conference in Manchester yesterday.
Will the Labour Party have to get rid of Brown before the next Election (which takes place either in 2009 or 2010) if they want to prevent the Tories getting into power?
The Tory Party Conference takes place in Birmingham next week. They currently lead the Government by 20% in a YouGov poll.
'This is a declaration of war': Ministers accuse Downing Street of forcing Kelly to quit early
By Joe Murphy, Paul Waugh and Nicola Boden
24th September 2008
Daily Mail
Gordon Brown's fightback was plunged into chaos today after Ruth Kelly's resignation from the Cabinet brought Labour's conference to a bombshell close.
The Transport Secretary said she was 'shocked' that her decision to step down quietly in the next reshuffle had been shattered by leaks of her plans.
Fellow Cabinet ministers were furious and her friends pointed an accusing finger at No10 officials for 'outing' her in an extraordinary 3am briefing to bemused reporters.
The bombshell blotted out the success of the Prime Minister’s big speech and disrupted his carefully planned autumn fightback to turn round the polls.
'I quit': Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly with husband Derek Gadd in Manchester today after announcing she is to step down from the Cabinet
Ministers were bewildered why Downing Street staff appeared to have broken the resignation plan at such a critical moment, with some blaming the misjudgment on paranoia around Mr Brown about a possible leadership challenge.
A minister told the Evening Standard: 'Downing Street has pushed out the timing of the announcement for reasons of their own. I have given up trying to understand why they do things like this. It is not helpful.'
The BBC said it had been tipped off last night about Ms Kelly's plans to leave in order to spend more time with her husband and four young children by Number 10 officials.
But it was clear that the minister, a devout Catholic who is known to be unhappy with the Government's proposals to liberalise embryology laws, had not intended to reveal her decision until the upcoming Cabinet reshuffle, now expected late next week.
'I have absolutely no idea [how it emerged]. I was as shocked as anyone when I heard the news,' Ms Kelly said this afternoon.
Amid claims that several members of the Cabinet are ready to march in to demand Mr Brown’s removal, she insisted she was not part of any plot and had made her mind up months ago to quit to spend more time with her family.
Strain: Ms Kelly, pictured here her husband and their children Eamon, Sinead and Roisin back in 2001. She later had a fourth child, Niamh
Meanwhile, Downing Street strongly denied it had proactively released her name amid growing claims of 'dirty tricks' and 'black ops' as allies of the minister feared she had become the latest victim of a campaign to flush out Labour rebels.
Her resignation was leaked and broadcast just before dawn after a frenzied, rumour-filled few hours in Manchester.
Those loyal to the Transport Secretary perceived the move as yet another example of Number 10's drive to take away oxygen from potential leadership challengers.
It wrecked the euphoria following Mr Brown's well-received speech to the party faithful yesterday and ruined a media blitz on the TV and radio stations by him this morning.
Another minister said: 'This is a declaration of war. Downing Street must be stopped.'
While she has never been publicly disloyal, Ms Kelly is said to have been unhappy with the Government's direction under Mr Brown's leadership in recent months.
Her name had also been linked to rumours that several ministers were planning to resign together at the reshuffle and attack Mr Brown's leadership.
Friends claimed she was 'disgusted' after his keynote speech in which he begged for a second chance from the party and voters.
The Tories also said she was overheard branding his speech 'terrible', an allegation she flatly denied today, declaring the address 'brilliant'.
She also denied being part of a coup against the Prime Minister, but refused to answer whether other ministers had approached her to be involved in such a plot.
Asked if the minister had a problem with Mr Brown, her close friend and political commentator Will Hutton said today: 'Well she reads the polls and she is in a marginal constituency. Draw your own conclusions.'
If she has been forced out, it is a hugely risky move that looks set to break last night's uneasy truce after the Prime Minister's keynote speech.
His emotional performance managed to silence some of his critics but he is now forced into a difficult Cabinet reshuffle that threatens to unleash fresh infighting.
'A good friend': Gordon Brown with Ms Kelly at the end of her conference speech today.
Delegrates gave her a standing ovation
There was speculation Ms Kelly could become a dangerous outrider, taking part in a Miliband leadership campaign from the backbenches.
She and Mr Brown put on a public display of unity in Manchester today as the conference came to a close.
The Transport Secretary insisted her reasons for stepping down were 'purely personal' and lauded the Prime Minister as a 'towering figure'.
Departing from her prepared notes, she confirmed it was the last time she would be addressing them as a Cabinet minister and begged them to understand her decision.
'This was not a decision I took lightly. I told Gordon before the summer of my decision to leave the Government for family reasons at the next reshuffle,' she said.
'I was still in my 20s as Labour was given the honour of leading the country - all my children were born under a Labour Government. The past 15 years have been amazing, an at times humbling experience.'
She added: 'It has been a tremendous privilege to have worked with both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown - two towering figures in the Labour Party, Government and on the world stage.
'But as well as a front line politician, I am also proud to be a mother and a wife. To have been able to hold these jobs, I've relied on the support of my husband and my family.
'So I ask for your understanding when I say that I now owe it to my children and family to take a step back and start putting them first. If I do not, then I know that this is something I will come to regret deeply.'
She also declared her confidence Labour would be able to see this country 'through difficult times' but said it 'can and must do better'.
'I am leaving the stage today but I will be with this great party all the way in the battle to keep improving our country,' the minister pledged.
Stern: Ms Kelly (far left), with International Development Douglas Alexander, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling (second from right) and Women's Minister Harriet "Harperson" Harman, during Brown's speech
The Prime Minister described her as a 'good friend' and confirmed she had spoken to him in May about stepping down. He too denied it was related to his leadership.
'Ruth Kelly is a very good friend of mine but she feels the tension of having four young children and wanting to spend time helping them through these difficult years,' he said.
'She's been an MP all the time her children have been born. She is a very talented individual and I think the public will understand these are the things that happen when you have to juggle work and family life.'
Rumours have been circulating for months that Ms Kelly was planning to leave but until today, her aides had refused to confirm them, saying only 'no comment'.
Downing Street and her spokeswoman said they had finally decided to come clean early this morning because of growing reshuffle rumours.
'She wanted to wait until there was the next reshuffle in the Government and obviously this leaked out last night,' Mr Brown said. He denied more resignations would follow.
Number 10 are now once again scrambling to head off a leadership crisis as the Prime Minister prepares to reshuffle his Cabinet next week.
He had been on the verge of postponing it for fear of destroying the progress he had made with his confident performance in Manchester.
Ministers were already in uproar last night after reports emerged, allegedly from Downing Street, that he was preparing to act and considering sending Chief Whip Geoff Hoon to Brussels.
Mr Brown's aides initially denied the claims, only to admit later that Ms Kelly's decision to 'hand in her cards' would force the Prime Minister to make some changes.
He refused to discuss a reshuffle this morning and repeatedly insisted the minister's resignation had nothing to do with questions about his leadership.
The Cabinet is now divided about whether he should use the opportunity to stamp his authority with a sweeping carve-up or restrict himself to moving more junior ministers.
Some of his closest supporters are urging him to purge suspected plotters from the Government but others fear it could backfire spectacularly.
One ministerial aide said: 'Reshuffles that are conceived to send out messages have a terrible record of going disastrously wrong.'
Another insider added: 'The public are worried about their jobs and their mortgages and they would not be impressed if they see us fiddling around with out own job titles.'
Justice Secretary Jack Straw is understood to believe there is no need to alter the current Cabinet because it was last refreshed when Peter Hain resigned in January.
A key decision for Mr Brown will be whether he leaves potential leadership rival Mr Miliband in his post at the Foreign Office or moves him to a less high-profile role.
Mr Miliband defied the tradition that ministers keep quiet and defer to the Premiers' right to patronage today by saying he wanted to stay on.
who denied toning down his speech earlier this week to avoid making it look like he was challenging the Prime Minister, said today he wanted to stay on.
'I'm very happy doing the job I am doing. To represent your country is a fantastic thing to do and I am happy doing that,' he said.
Going on the record to discuss it means that any move Mr Brown makes against him will now be seen as even more of a brutal slap-down to Labour's 'young pretender'.
It had been expected Ms Kelly might resign because of her objections to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.
She and two other Catholic ministers, Des Browne and Welsh Secretary Paul Murphy, voted in favour of banning hybrid human-animal embryos earlier this year.
The Bill is due back before the Commons next month when they will be expected to follow the rules of collective responsibility and vote with the Government.
There were also rumours the minister, who is MP for Bolton West, could lose her post in a Cabinet reshuffle.
Her 2,064 majority makes her seat hugely vulnerable and today she declined to say whether she planned to stay in Parliament after the next election, expected in 2010.
Ms Kelly was first elected to Parliament in 1997 while she was heavily pregnant with her first child - becoming one of Tony Blair's original 'Blair Babes' . She gave birth 11 days later and has since had three more children.
She has been in the Cabinet since December 2004, working as Education Secretary and Communities and Local Government Secretary before moving to Transport.
During her earlier work at the Treasury, she is said to have refused to take a 'red box' of work home with her and to work long hours because of her family.
The minister has been linked to Opus Dei, the devout Catholic group featured in the novel The Da Vinci Code.
'More time with the family': Politics’ favourite euphemism
Ruth Kelly is the latest in a line of ministers who quit to spend 'more time with the family'.
The phrase becamse a euphemism for frustration since Norman Fowler left the Thatcher Cabinet in 1990 citing it.
Andrew Smith, a Brownite minister, resigned in the final term of Tony Blair to see more of his brood - and because he did not like Mr Blair's welfare reforms.
Alan Milburn chose his family after losing a power battle to Mr Brown.
Now Ms Kelly is to see more of her family - and less of Mr Brown. Tradition suggests she will be happy with both outcomes.
'More time with the family': The phrase became a euphemism for frustration in 1990 when Normal Fowler used it on leaving the Thatcher cabinet
dailymail.co.uk