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Douglas Alexander warned Labour MPs that "divided parties lose elections"
The Labour Party's general election co-ordinator has urged his party to "pull together", warning that "divided parties lose elections".
Douglas Alexander's remarks came after party leader Ed Miliband was forced to dismiss as "nonsense" claims that some Labour MPs wanted him to resign.
It is understood Mr Miliband's leadership was questioned at a meeting of Labour MPs from north-west England.
But Labour MP Diane Abbott said Mr Miliband was "not going anywhere".
Recent polls have suggested Labour is on course to lose seats to the Scottish National Party, and that Mr Miliband is now less popular than his Liberal Democrat counterpart Nick Clegg.
Sources say MPs from north-west England discussed moving to a defensive strategy in a bid to hold on to their seats, rather than an offensive one aimed at winning the election.
The BBC has learned that the leadership was discussed on Wednesday, at a regular social gathering of Labour MPs from the 2010 intake.
Analysis BBC political correspondent Chris MasonWhile accurately measuring gloom is impossible, there is rather a lot of it about among Labour MPs - and more than there was.
It is six months to the day until the general election, and, as opinion polls suggest Labour's lead is narrowing and Ed Miliband is less popular than his party, some fret this could not just stunt Labour's progress at the election, but cost them their seats.
But Labour does take comfort from not being the sole home of political gloom. The atmosphere's sufficiently febrile, the polls sufficiently in flux, to mean the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats are not immune from nervy bouts of worry either.
The BBC's assistant political editor Norman Smith said there was a "wide degree of disillusionment" about Mr Miliband's leadership.
"But there is no way anyone can see of doing anything about it," he added.
"If they could have a magic wand and just wave Ed Miliband away I'm sure they would love it. But they don't."
Labour backbencher John Mann, a critic of the leadership in the past, said Mr Miliband needed a "cutting edge" if the party was to win back power.
Asked if Mr Miliband could turn things around, he said yes but added: "He needs to be doing the right thing. We do not need more policies... We need him out and about, literally on the doorstep, listening to people and reflecting on what they are saying."
Labour leadership rules
- In order to depose a sitting Labour leader a challenger would need to be backed by 20% of Labour MPs.
- There are currently 257 Labour MPs, so any potential candidate needs the formal support of 52 of them.
- If a nominee secures this level of support they must then write to Labour's general secretary Iain McNicol announcing their intention to run.
- The contest would then be decided at annual conference in the autumn.
- There is no mechanism to call an emergency conference before this.
But former Cabinet minister Ben Bradshaw, who backed Mr Miliband's brother David in the 2010 leadership contest, said he was "optimistic" that the Labour leader would be in Downing Street in six months time.
"I didn't support Ed Miliband but I have been massively impressed by what he's achieved," he told BBC Breakfast.
"He's held the Labour party together, he's correctly identified the challenges facing this country, in that we have an economy that doesn't work for most people.
"He's developed a very good policy programme on energy, on housing, on jobs and growth and I think he will win the election."
Ms Abbott, who has been a MP for more than 20 years, dismissed the doubt cast on Mr Miliband's leadership as Labour MPs "whingeing", while veteran former Cabinet minister Peter Hain said it was "Westminster bubble nonsense".
He added: "If people are feeding this stuff they should stop because what the country is desperate for is change."
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