In his blunt article for this week's New Statesman, Charles Clarke demonstrates why he could never become Prime Minister.

The former Home Secretary sets out an analysis of Labour's triumphs and mistakes over the past 11 years with his customary intellectual rigour and rudeness.

Being right doesn't automatically make you popular, and Mr Clarke doesn't make friends easily.

But beneath his condemnation of the "deceitful nonsense" coming out of Gordon Brown's team is a thoughtful plea for party unity.

Mr Clarke argues that Labour is still obsessed with the battles of the past, as "Blairites" and "Brownites" fight it out "in a way that owes rather more to Just William ... than to the challenges of modern British politics."

He urges them to stop, and instead to start thinking about the future and how Labour can see off the threat from David Cameron.

But there's a sting in the tail. What Mr Clarke is really trying to say is that those people who fear Labour is heading for a devastating defeat are right, and their concerns should not be dismissed.

He concludes that Labour is "destined to disaster", a comment which naturally has dominated coverage of his essay in the media.

But he also claims that he and others who think like him are determined not to let that happen.

Well, talk is cheap. The fact is that Mr Clarke and others can do nothing to stop Labour heading for the rocks.

Gordon Brown isn't going to listen to him. It seems unlikely that those whom the Prime Minister listens to, such as Education Secretary Ed Balls, are going to demand a change of direction.

Labour figures, from former Ministers and backbench MPs to the current Cabinet, need to decide whether they want to make the best of what they have and stick with Mr Brown, or get rid of him.

But dropping heavy hints won't help - if anything, it makes the situation worse. Mr Brown isn't going to quit voluntarily. If Labour's big-hitters want him out, they should say so.

Related links: Charles Clarke's article.

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