Veteran Labour MP questions party’s policies

George Mudie said he was “deeply worried” about the Opposition’s prospects at the general election, admitting that he did not know its policy on welfare or education.

The former Minister and Leeds East MP said Mr Miliband’s problems included being “young” and the key role of the unions in his leadership contest victory over brother David.

“I have difficulty knowing what we stand for now,” he told the BBC. “We are 18 months away from an election thinking that we will put out a document on all these major items and the public will say ‘Oh great.’

“And I think, often, at the moment, the Government are setting the agenda, making the weather and we’re responding to it.

“Tony Blair and Gordon Brown never did that... . We’re not setting any agenda, we’re responding to the Tories.”

Mr Mudie, a close ally of Mr Brown, said to get back into power Labour had to “demonstrate to people that we are relevant to their lives”.

If the party was not “offering something different” people would “stick with what they have got”, he warned.

“There has to be and there is some concern that the lead we have in the polls, first of all is not firm enough, big enough,” he added.

“Will it withstand a general election discussion?

“But the real thing is, do you know, because I don’t, know our position on welfare, do you know our position on education, do you know our genuine position on how we’d run the health service?

“If you’re not getting a clear enough message to me, and to some of my colleagues, what are you, what kind of message do you think you’re putting out there?

“I remember before we won, 1992, the five years to 1997, this place was bubbling, we were energetic, we were at them, we thought we had all the answers.

“We’re not at them and we’re slightly hesitant and we’re slightly confused and I deeply worry about that.”

Shadow Justice Secretary Sadiq Khan insisted Mr Miliband was doing the “heavy lifting” to win the election in 2015.

He told the BBC the party was determined to be a one-term opposition.