Senior Labor figure says MPs must bury hatred for Kevin Rudd because he is the party's best chance Kevin Rudd in question time in the House of Representatives Chamber, Parliament House in canberra Source: News Limited A RESPECTED Labor elder who previously backed Prime Minister Julia Gillard has warned she cannot win the election and urged her to hand over to Kevin Rudd. In a sign of growing momentum for a shift back to Mr Rudd, the influential figure said government MPs had to bury their hatred of the former PM and admit he was their best chance of saving seats. But the same source warned Mr Rudd to desist from his campaign of "revenge" and stop his supporters from destabilising the Government. "I think she's a much better person than he will ever be," the senior Labor figure said on the condition of anonymity. But Rudd is a much better campaigner. I'd prefer her to be the prime minister, but it's over. The warning comes as Labor's longest serving prime minister, Bob Hawke, rejected former Queensland Premier Peter Beattie's call to intervene in the leadership stoush between Ms Gillard and Mr Rudd. PARTY GAMES: Five questions that need to be answered about leadership When Labor MPs met in their second last scheduled caucus meeting, no one confronted Ms Gillard with their concerns. However, signs of the leadership tension were evident in public comments from Labor MPs throughout the day. Former Attorney General Nicola Roxon used her valedictory speech to praise Ms Gillard as a "capable, tough, determined, smart woman" who "has been subjected to some of the most crass, silly, petty, sexist and just plain rude behaviour for years." Ms Roxon urged her colleagues to focus on Labor's achievements, including her own win in achieving the world-first tobacco plain-packaging laws. We are a proud party with a proud record, and now we need to start behaving like one. Senator Trish Crossin, who Ms Gillard pushed from Labor's Northern Territory senate ticket in favour of former athlete Nova Peris, said she had been treated unfairly. Watched by Mr Rudd, who visited the Senate for her valedictory speech, Senator Crossin criticised Labor's record of getting women and indigenous people into Parliament. Do we need more women in Parliament? Of course we do. But not at the expense of each other," Senator Crossin said. Do we need more indigenous representation? But not in a vacuum. Senator Crossin also said the government had not done enough to help the citizens of Christmas Island who lived next to the "most intimidating detention centre in the country." Ms Gillard avoided a damaging Caucus debate about whether she should be stripped of the power to choose frontbenchers after Labor MPs agreed to defer any changes until after election. The move to defer the debate was made by one of Ms Gillard's key backers, powerbroker Don Farrell. In the meeting, former Speaker Harry Jenkins said ministers were too scared to confront Ms Gillard or Mr Rudd when he was leader because they were the ones who chose the front bench. Senior minister Anthony Albanese said the PM should retain the power to choose ministers but rank-and-file Labor members should be able to elect the leader. The debate proposed by backbencher Steve Gibbons, who once branded Kevin Rudd a "psychopath," could have become a proxy for the leadership stoush. Mr Rudd removed the ability of the Caucus and factions from dividing the front bench and Ms Gillard maintained this practice. He has since advocated a return to Caucus choosing ministers. In a speech backing his proposal, Mr Gibbons said: "The world we live in today is far too complex for leadership to be left to any one individual, however much talent - and ego - they may have." Ms Gillard urged her colleagues to "focus on the nation, not ourselves." She will not be at next week's final caucus meeting because she is due to attend Hazel Hawke's funeral. But some Labor MPs believe another meeting will need to be called towards the end of next week to resolve the leadership impasse. Some Rudd supporters claim the former PM could count on majority support in the Caucus but did not want to break his pledge not to challenge Ms Gillard. But senior Gillard backer Craig Emerson said it was clear Mr Rudd did not have the numbers and had said there were no circumstances in which he would return to the leadership.