A junior member of the government has broken ranks to call for a challenge to Gordon Brown as party leader.
Government whip Siobhain McDonagh is thought to be among the Labour MPs to have sought details about the nomination process for a contest.
Labour confirmed they have had letters from a "small number" of MPs asking why no nomination papers for leader were issued ahead of the party conference.
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Ms McDonagh - a normally loyal MP who has never voted against the government - said she wanted a debate about the future of the party.
But she said "everybody" in government is talking about the leadership issue and she wanted such discussions to be out in the open.
"I think we need to clear the air. I think whoever wants to stand for leader of the Labour Party should do so and we should have a good debate about the direction of the party and the government," she told the BBC News Channel.
She said she did not have a particular candidate in mind.
She is so far the only member of the government to publicly call for a leadership contest.
Backbencher Graham Stringer was the first Labour MP to call for Mr Brown to step down, after the party's defeat at the Crewe and Nantwich by-election in May.
And former Home Secretary Charles Clarke last week warned the party faced "destruction" at the next general election - and told Mr Brown to improve his performance or quit.
(BBC)
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