By . Jack Doyle . Senior Labour ministers are agitating against Ed Miliband in a game of ‘leadership Top Trumps’, the party’s policy chief has admitted. Jon Cruddas named Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, Mr Balls’s wife and Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, and health spokesman Andy Burnham as among those positioning themselves to replace him. His comments are the most explicit admission to date by a senior party figure that senior Shadow Cabinet figures may attempt to remove Mr Miliband in a bid to improve the party’s prospects. Bid for power? Jon Cruddas named Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, Mr Balls's wife and Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper (pictured together) as among those positioning themselves to replace Mr Miliband . But Mr Cruddas, who is leading the party’s policy review, hit out at those who suggest that somebody else would perform better as leader than Mr Miliband. In an interview with the New Statesman magazine, he said: ‘This is a journey of self-discovery; it’s not a question of leadership. This won’t be resolved by throwing someone else in front of the train. ‘You ain’t going to do it by having a game of Top Trumps across the leadership. 'It’s not about Andy [Burnham], or Ed [Balls], or Yvette [Cooper]. If people think the solution to this is X rather than Y, they are deluding themselves.’ In the card game Top Trumps each card contains a list of numerical data, and the aim of the game is to compare these values to try to trump and win an opponent’s card. Mr Cruddas’s comments come amid catastrophic personal poll ratings and a series of humiliating PR blunders for Mr Miliband. Next in line? Health spokesman Andy Burnham, pictured right with Mr Miliband. Mr Cruddas's comments come amid catastrophic personal poll ratings and a series of humiliating PR blunders for Mr Miliband . Last weekend, Labour wheeled out former leader Neil Kinnock – who lost two general elections, in 1987 and 1992 – to defend him. At the same time, the most recent in a series of disastrous polls exposed the public’s lack of belief in Mr Miliband’s leadership. A YouGov poll found that 51 per cent think he is a weak leader, 56 per cent think he is out of touch with ordinary people and 60 per cent think he is not up to the job of leading the country. Criticism: Jon Cruddas, who is leading the party's policy review, hit out at those who suggest that somebody else would perform better as leader . In recent weeks, Mr Miliband was criticised after posing with a copy of The Sun, only to apologise for doing so when he was criticised by families of Hillsborough victims. Some on Merseyside still boycott the newspaper over its coverage of the tragedy. That followed a lacklustre performance in the European and local elections and a disastrous series of photos showing him struggling as he ate a bacon sandwich. Yesterday a Labour spokesman played down Mr Cruddas’s comments. ‘Jon was making the point that we are a united team, fighting hard to win the general election,’ the spokesman said. But Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said: ‘Jon Cruddas has hit the nail on the head. ‘While weak Ed Miliband is getting knifed in the back by his colleagues and struggling to hold his divided party together, the Conservatives are putting in place our long term economic plan to secure Britain’s future.’ A Tory source added: ‘It says it all that Labour’s policy chief is describing their campaign as a slow-motion train crash.’ At the weekend Lord Kinnock criticised media attacks on Mr Miliband, but he added: ‘It won’t stop him; his genuine strengths of thought, action and toughness will get through and help to win victory.’ And Mr Burnham told BBC Radio 4 that pressure was only increasing on Mr Miliband ‘because he has put us in a position where we can win in ten months’ time’.
Jon Cruddas said Labour ministers may attempt to remove Mr Miliband .
Seen as a bid to improve party's prospects amid catastrophic poll ratings .
But Mr Cruddas hit out at those who suggested that others would be better .
Said problems won't be resolved by 'throwing someone else in front of train'
By . Jack Doyle . Senior Labour ministers are agitating against Ed Miliband in a game of ‘leadership Top Trumps’, the party’s policy chief has admitted. Jon Cruddas named Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, Mr Balls’s wife and Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, and health spokesman Andy Burnham as among those positioning themselves to replace him. His comments are the most explicit admission to date by a senior party figure that senior Shadow Cabinet figures may attempt to remove Mr Miliband in a bid to improve the party’s prospects. Bid for power? Jon Cruddas named Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, Mr Balls's wife and Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper (pictured together) as among those positioning themselves to replace Mr Miliband . But Mr Cruddas, who is leading the party’s policy review, hit out at those who suggest that somebody else would perform better as leader than Mr Miliband. In an interview with the New Statesman magazine, he said: ‘This is a journey of self-discovery; it’s not a question of leadership. This won’t be resolved by throwing someone else in front of the train. ‘You ain’t going to do it by having a game of Top Trumps across the leadership. 'It’s not about Andy [Burnham], or Ed [Balls], or Yvette [Cooper]. If people think the solution to this is X rather than Y, they are deluding themselves.’ In the card game Top Trumps each card contains a list of numerical data, and the aim of the game is to compare these values to try to trump and win an opponent’s card. Mr Cruddas’s comments come amid catastrophic personal poll ratings and a series of humiliating PR blunders for Mr Miliband. Next in line? Health spokesman Andy Burnham, pictured right with Mr Miliband. Mr Cruddas's comments come amid catastrophic personal poll ratings and a series of humiliating PR blunders for Mr Miliband . Last weekend, Labour wheeled out former leader Neil Kinnock – who lost two general elections, in 1987 and 1992 – to defend him. At the same time, the most recent in a series of disastrous polls exposed the public’s lack of belief in Mr Miliband’s leadership. A YouGov poll found that 51 per cent think he is a weak leader, 56 per cent think he is out of touch with ordinary people and 60 per cent think he is not up to the job of leading the country. Criticism: Jon Cruddas, who is leading the party's policy review, hit out at those who suggest that somebody else would perform better as leader . In recent weeks, Mr Miliband was criticised after posing with a copy of The Sun, only to apologise for doing so when he was criticised by families of Hillsborough victims. Some on Merseyside still boycott the newspaper over its coverage of the tragedy. That followed a lacklustre performance in the European and local elections and a disastrous series of photos showing him struggling as he ate a bacon sandwich. Yesterday a Labour spokesman played down Mr Cruddas’s comments. ‘Jon was making the point that we are a united team, fighting hard to win the general election,’ the spokesman said. But Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said: ‘Jon Cruddas has hit the nail on the head. ‘While weak Ed Miliband is getting knifed in the back by his colleagues and struggling to hold his divided party together, the Conservatives are putting in place our long term economic plan to secure Britain’s future.’ A Tory source added: ‘It says it all that Labour’s policy chief is describing their campaign as a slow-motion train crash.’ At the weekend Lord Kinnock criticised media attacks on Mr Miliband, but he added: ‘It won’t stop him; his genuine strengths of thought, action and toughness will get through and help to win victory.’ And Mr Burnham told BBC Radio 4 that pressure was only increasing on Mr Miliband ‘because he has put us in a position where we can win in ten months’ time’.
attempt to remove Mr Miliband in a bid to improve the party’s prospects. Bid for power? Jon Cruddas to replace Mr Miliband . But Mr Cruddas, who is resolved by throwing someone else in front of the come amid catastrophic personal poll ratings and the party's policy review, hit out at those who