Two ministers says UK PM Brown has lost control of his party

London, May 1 (ANI): Two senior Cabinet ministers have privately warned that Prime Minister Gordon Brown has lost control of the Labor parliamentary party and have predicted that election defeat is almost certain.

One minister close to Brown told The Daily Telegraph: "We can still turn this round, but Gordon is not listening. He is lashing out and reacting to headlines. It's all so reminiscent of the last months of John Major. If we don't get our act together - and that means Gordon needs some better advice - we could go down to a defeat every bit as big as, if not bigger than, the Tories in 1997."

Another Cabinet minister said: "Gordon is looking for someone to blame for the Gurkhas but he refused to see that we were in trouble and did not see it coming. Instead we had the spectacle of the Prime Minister, insisting at the dispatch box at 12.15, that the deal was the right one, only to be defied by dozens of our MPs only hours later. I am afraid we are giving the impression that we have lost control of our own side."

"We have to get a grip, give him better advice, otherwise there will be more talk of leadership challenges, which is the last thing we want," he added.he series of setbacks to Brown's authority has raised questions about his continued leadership of the party.

One senior minister said: "The Parliamentary Labour Party is in total meltdown. It is worrying. The backbenchers will now rather hit Gordon's authority than allow things like the Gurkhas to go through. What that means is that we will stop putting tough legislation through the Commons for fear of getting defeated. The public are not stupid. They will soon spot that and it is then that you risk looking like a busted flush."

One loyalist minister conceded that Brown has lost the respect of many of his own MPs. (ANI)