Brown must let voters get to know him, says Mandy

Peter Mandelson voiced his fears over the state of Labour and called on Gordon Brown to open up to voters.

The EU Trade Commissioner told The New Statesman how he left Labour's conference last week having "never felt such a sense of urgency for the Labour party to think through how it's going to win the next election".

Labour needs to end its "paralysis" and broaden its appeal to more than just its core vote, he said.

He spoke out against fatalism that his party had already lost the next general election.

He said Labour needed a "harder edge," and warned against trying to "split the difference between the old Left and new Labour" as an election strategy.

Mr Mandelson, an arch rival to the Prime Minister, told the Left-wing magazine: "The reason why Gordon's speech at conference was a success was that it opened more of a window onto Gordon Brown.

"The public wants to feel a connection, a personal one, with their prime ministers. They know he has a full head of policy ideas and experience. But they also want to know more about him."

Mr Mandelson may disappoint Mr Brown's critics by not launching a major attack on him. "I do not think changing the face at the top is the panacea some imagine," he said.