A Sussex MP says Labour has a fighting chance of winning the next general election if Prime Minister Tony Blair steps down sooner rather than later.

But Brighton Kemptown MP Des Turner's comments did not find favour with his Brighton Pavilion counterpart David Lepper.

They took contrasting stands after Labour took a drubbing in last Thursday's local elections, with Crawley falling to the Conservatives for the first time in 35 years.

Dr Turner said: "I think Tony Blair should step down sooner rather than later. I think he has made mistakes which have got the party in the position it is in.

"If we do the right things from now on, I think we have got a fighting chance in the next general election.

"The country cannot afford Labour to lose it. Even with shiny new leadership the Conservatives are not any more attractive to the voters than they were before."

Mr Lepper does not believe Mr Blair should step down as leader any time soon to make way for someone new.

He said: "I think Mr Blair has made clear his position that he is not going to lead the party into the next general election.

"I do think it would be a mistake to start clamouring for a change now.

"I am sure there is going to be a motion that does not mean necessarily a transfer to Gordon Brown but there will be a new leader.

"There is no doubt that the Conservatives' popularity is increasing but in terms of a general election they have not done well. In the northern cities they have not made headway.

"The old saying goes 'a week is a long time in politics' and three or four years until the next general election is like an eternity.

"People are going to be weighing up what a Labour government in office has meant to them.

"I still think we are going to see three Labour MPs in Brighton and Hove after the next general election."

In a survey conducted at the weekend, 52 of 104 Labour backbenchers said Mr Blair should stand down within a year.

MPs loyal to Tony Blair accused Labour rebels of staging a coup to topple the Prime Minister, warning they were playing "a very dangerous game".

Labour MPs have given Mr Blair until the summer to lay out a clear timetable for the handover of power. Mr Lepper said Labour's defeat in Crawley had not been down to anything the Prime Minister or Government had done but the actions of Crawley Borough Council.

He said: "The people who had voted Labour, who said they would not this time, said it was because of things that had happened within the local council."

Crawley councillor Robert Hull, chairman of the Labour party in West Sussex, said: "What happened in the local elections in Crawley was a reflection of local issues.

"The Labour party in Crawley needs to take time to look at what happened and how it came to be that so many people switched their allegiances to another party."