A former Labour minister has called for Gordon Brown to quit, as pressure grows on the Prime Minister in the wake of Thursday's election defeat.
Vauxhall MP Kate Hoey - who served as sports minister under Tony Blair from 1999-2001 - said it would be impossible for Labour to achieve "renewal" until it had a new leader.
Her comments follow a call from Bassetlaw MP John Mann for Mr Brown to stand down as Labour leader and PM, because he was losing the party votes and standing in the way of a credible coalition deal with Liberal Democrats.
They will heighten speculation about how long Mr Brown can hang on in 10 Downing Street after an election in which Labour shed 91 MPs and lost its majority in the House of Commons.
Ms Hoey told BBC Radio Five Live's Stephen Nolan show: "I think he must go and I don't think we will have renewal until we get a new leader."
She acknowledged it would take a long time for a new leader to be chosen, and a contest might not be possible during the current period of constitutional uncertainty, but said it would be "helpful" if Mr Brown indicated his intention to quit.
"I think, deep down, most Labour Party members know that in a short time, one way or another, the Prime Minister won't be Gordon Brown and he won't be the leader of our party," she said.
Ms Hoey criticised the negative tone of Labour's election campaign.
And she said that many voters who backed the party because of its policies and values did so "reluctantly because of who our leader was and with a heavy heart and despite us having Gordon as leader".
She backed Mr Mann's call for the Parliamentary Labour Party to be convened to discuss the party's response to the emergency created by the inconclusive election result.
