Peter Mandelson appears to have bestowed his blessing on Streatham MP Chuka Umunna becoming the next Labour leader.
Following a bloody election night for Labour in England and Scotland the key architect of New Labour claimed that ditching the New Labour centre ground was a ‘terrible mistake’ on the BBC 1 Andrew Marr Show.
The Prince of Darkness paid tribute to the former Labour leader praising his ‘passionate and professional performance’ during the campaign, however he also took the opportunity to deliver his verdict on what happened.
He said: The awful shocking thing about this election is that Labour could have won it or at least come a very near second.
“The reason we lost it so badly and the reason we lost it in 2010 –we discarded New Labour rather than revitalising it and re-energising it and making it relevant for the new times and new policy challenges that we face.”
He claimed that what the party now needed was ‘New New Labour’.
Appearing on the same show Mr Umunna also praised Mr Miliband.
“One of Ed’s great legacies was to reform our party,” he said.
“Ed grew in stature – he led a courageous campaign.”
When pressed on whether he would stand in the Labour leadership contest he refused to officially set out his stall.
He added: “I certainly intend to play the fullest part I can in rebuilding our party and ensuring that we have a proper debate that we now need to have.
“This Labour party is a fantastic party – we are down but we are certainly not out.”
Image courtesy of BBC via YouTube, with thanks
