In mid-2008, a large number of senior MPs openly called upon Brown to resign. This event was dubbed the "Lancashire Plot"; two backbenchers from North West England urged Brown to step down and a third questioned his chances of holding on to the Labour Party leadership. Several MPs said that if Brown did not recover in the polls by early 2009, he should call for a leadership contest. However, prominent MPsincluding Jacqui Smith and Bill Rammellsaid that Brown was the right person to lead Britain through its economic crisis.