British Prime Minister Gordon Brown tried today to stamp out a party revolt that poses the biggest threat so far to his 15-month-old premiership.
Mr Brown fired Labour MP Barry Gardiner from a junior post, a day after he joined a dozen other Labour politicians in challenging Brown's leadership.
Mr Brown has already dismissed two other dissidents from junior government posts after they called for a leadership contest, saying Labour needed a debate on its direction after 11 years in power.
But Mr Brown has failed to quell a growing chorus of dissent within his own party at the way he has led the country since taking over as prime minister from Tony Blair in June last year.
The rebellion comes at a crucial time, a week before Labour's annual conference in Manchester, and has sabotaged Mr Brown's attempts to relaunch his premiership after the credit crunch and rising prices sent his popularity plummeting.
After a series of crushing election reverses and with Labour trailing the Conservatives in the polls by 20 points, Labour politicians are increasingly questioning whether Brown has what it takes to lead a country on the verge of recession.
The internal feud only damages Labour further with voters.
Mr Gardiner accused the British prime minister in a newspaper column of "vacillation, loss of international credibility and timorous political manoeuvres that the public cannot understand."
Questions over Mr Brown's future could overshadow the Labour conference, but the rebels who have spoken out so far are relatively minor figures and no heavyweight challenger to Mr Brown has yet emerged who could become a focal point for the revolt.
Mr Gardiner follows government whip Siobhain McDonagh and Joan Ryan, a Labour vice-chairman, who were both sacked at the weekend for criticising the prime minister.
Justin Fisher, political science professor at Brunel University, thinks that while Brown has been hurt by recent events, it would require the resignation of a high-profile member of parliament or junior minister to encourage a member of the cabinet to show their hand as a potential challenger.
Labour rebels are demanding that nomination forms for a leadership ballot be sent to all MPs before the conference. They need 71 signatures to trigger a contest, but the party's ruling executive refuses to distribute them, saying they are only issued to individuals upon request.