Gordon Brown is stepping down. The internet and newspapers have been buzzing with the new that the Prime Minister will fight only one election.

“Friends” and “Senior Cabinet Colleagues” have sent out this brief, which is therefore not official in any way. Nevertheless, while Labourites can calm down slightly and not worry so much about ousting him Tories are likely to cry first with joy because Brown is leaving, then with sorrow that his unpopularity will fade with him.

There are two scenarios predicted at present: if Labour wins the next general election, Brown will stand down half way through the next parliament so that a successor within the part can be selected and scrutinised. If Labour loses in 2009/2010 then Brown will mimic Michael Howard after 2005.

Although the move is designed to put Labourites at ease and to prevent a coup within the party by Members fearing for their seats, the gesture will undoubtedly fuel flames of speculation regarding the next Labour leader.

Now the main issue is who will take over. At present, it seems like there is no obvious candidate as for years Brown was seen as the only suitable heir to Blair, dissenters were quashed by the Brownites while any surviving contenders held back and were washed aside by a sense of inevitability, Alan Milburn, Charles Clarke and John Reid to name but a few.

Every prominent Labour figure has had their merits and demerits weighed up by now. Alan Johnson would be the most likely and able leader if there were to be an ousting before an election. He is a respected and broadly popular “good chap” with connections to the party base of C1 and C2 voters (‘working classes’), although he seems to have ‘no ambition in that direction’.

David Miliband is the other favourite, mainly because he is young and articulate. As Foreign Secretary, he will have gained significant experience and demonstrated his competence in high office by the time as election has been fought. However, Brown spent 10 years at the Treasury and was the most successful post-war chancellor, and that did not seem to help him much.

Like his predecessor, the announcement of the departure will be another thorny issue, but hopefully Brown will have learned from the “non-election” that speculation gets out of control very quickly. The difference here is that while the public wanted a faster transition from Blair to Brown, weakening Tony’s authority, Browns authority will not suffer as there is as of yet no alternative. The party must get behind Gordon.