The latest poll by ICM shows that Labour is on course to lose the once-safe seat, with the party on 30 per cent compared to 34 per cent for the Conservatives, 15 per cent for the Liberal Democrats, and the Greens on 14 per cent.
Ian Gibson, the former MP, stepped down after The Daily Telegraph’s disclosure that he sold his taxpayer-funded second home to his daughter at below market rates led the party to ban him from standing for Labour at the general election.
Mr Clarke, who represents the neighbouring seat of Norwich South, suggested that local voters were unhappy that Dr Gibson had been made a scapegoat over the expenses scandal, and claimed that he had been sacked by a “kangaroo court”.
He said: “It is an uphill fight. I think there is an expenses element. People do feel that Ian was unfairly treated. It was a badly taken decision.”
Mr Clarke, a prominent critic of the Prime Minister, added that Labour’s continuing poor opinion poll performance meant that Mr Brown remained at risk of a leadership challenge.
A separate poll by YouGov showed that the Conservatives’ lead over Labour nationally had stretched to 17 points, at 42 per cent to 25 per cent, with the Liberal Democrats on 18 per cent.
Mr Clarke said: “People will make up their minds over the next few months what they need to do and what’s the best thing for Labour to do to win the election. As the polls currently show there are challenges that still arise.
“If the electorate feel uncertain with where we are and what’s going on then I think that in those circumstances anything can happen.
“I don’t think it’s a finished and closed question but it will depend on the electorate, principally.”
But Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary and front-runner to replace Mr Brown, insisted that Labour could still win the election – and appeared to suggest that voting day would sooner than the deadline for the poll, 11 months away in June.
He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show: “Look, where the Tories are, whether it’s the late 30s, one of the polls said 37, early 40s, eight months before a General Election everything’s to play for. It is game on.”
