A veteran Labour left-winger has attacked the party's "unhealthy authoritarian streak", warning the British government that it won the last election "on sleaze" and could lose power for the same reason.
The Labour MP, Mr Chris Mullin, launched his bitter attack on party "spin doctors" and rich sponsors during a speech to party members in North Yorkshire last night, on the same day that the former leader of the party, Mr Neil Kinnock, urged members not to let "Trotskyites, sectarians and other selfish parasites" win election to Labour's ruling committee next month.
Sending a clear, but not altogether surprising, warning to the Labour hierarchy, Mr Mullin told activists that he regretted the party's dependence on "spin doctors or the favours of rich men. We won on sleaze, we could lose on sleaze." He also said leaders should bear in mind that they did not always know best. "History records that the judgment of the led has sometimes proved superior to that of the leaders," he said.
The Blair government had made "substantial achievements", but there were no grounds for complacency and it was important for the government to bring the voters and party members with it into the future.
Mr Mullin also chided the government for its "friendly" relationship with the media tycoon, Mr Rupert Murdoch: "To take him on is a high-risk strategy. Whether it is best to leave him alone is a fine calculation, and I entirely understand why our political masters have opted for caution rather than risk a heroic defeat."
Meanwhile, left-wing candidates standing for election to the party's ruling body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), hit back at Mr Kinnock yesterday after he accused them of destabilising from within by preferring to attack the leadership rather than Labour's political opponents.
Mr Kinnock, who fought many bitter battles with the hard left, told the Guardian they were ingrained in the politics of "perpetual sneer" and he would not vote for anyone who wanted to "wage war" against the Labour leadership. One candidate fired back, accusing Mr Kinnock of "ludicrous" misrepresentation, saying he had confused loyalty with "uncritical adulation for individual Labour leaders".