by political editor Paul Francis

Kent's Labour faithful have reacted to Gordon Brown's decision to resign as leader in the autumn.

In a statement today, the PM said he would relinquish the leader role in the autumn even if Labour and the Liberal Democrats form a coalition government.

His decision has triggered yet further uncertainty over the outcome of discussions between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, who were thought to be close to agreeing a deal to form the next government.

The news that Labour is now apparently keen to talk with the Lib Dems over a rainbow alliance administration has been defended by former Kent Labour MPs.

Transport minister Paul Clark, who lost his Gillingham and Rainham constituency, said:

"Gordon has done the right thing. He allowed discussions to take place between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to try and form a stable government that the country desperately needs. But if you ended up with a minority government that could be defeated in a matter of weeks, that would bring great instability to a whole range of programmes, not least the economic recovery."

Steve Ladyman, defeated in Thanet South, said Labour was entitled to see if it could form a government.

"Our constitution is that whoever can command a majority in government is entitled to lead the country. There is an awful lot more that we have in common with the Lib Dems than they do with the Conservatives."