Liam Byrne – I’ve burnt with shame for the last five years over treasury note

• Georgia Graham georgia.graham@itn.co.uk

Labour’s former treasury minister has told the Observer that leaving the now infamous note for the incoming coalition government.

He admits that the “there’s no money” note which David Cameron utilised with glee thorughout the last days of the election campaign harmed Labour’s chances.

In the one-line letter, Byrne told David Laws, the new chief secretary to the Treasury: “I’m afraid there is no money”, and signed off wishing him “good luck!”. As we know now it backfired spectacularly and allowed the coalition to constantly attack Labour’s economic record in the wake of the financial crisis.

He says:  “Party members ask me: what on earth were you thinking? But members of the public ask: how could you do something so crass? And so bloody offensive?

“I’ve asked myself that question every day for five years and, believe me, every day I have burnt with the shame of it, nowhere more than when standing on doorsteps with good comrades, listening to voters demanding to know what I thought I was playing at. It was always excruciating.”

Tony Blair: The route to success is through the centre ground

• Georgia Graham georgia.graham@itn.co.uk

The former PM has come out to tell his party that they must refocus on the centre ground if they want to make a comeback in British politics.

Although praising Ed MIliband for showing strength under “savage attack” he makes it clear that his clear left-of-centre agenda both alienated business and those aspirational voters who want to get on in life.

In a clear, unsurprising call for a re-heating of the New Labour, Blairite approach he wrote in the Observer: “The route to the summit lies through the centre ground.”

Clearly a comment on his own preferred politics but also an implicit criticism of Mr Miliband’s risky 2011 conference speech in which he sought to present certain businesses as “predators” out to make a “fast buck” who needed to be chastened.

Hell No! John Prescott launches blistering attack on Ed Miliband’s failed ‘presidential’ campaign

• Georgia Graham georgia.graham@itn.co.uk

Not mincing his words in a piece in the Sunday Mirror, Mr Prescott said Thursday was “a bloody disastrous night for Labour”.

He added: “We won less seats than in 2010, we lost a leader, lost a shadow chancellor and lost the election. The party is now Ed-less.

“We fought a presidential-type election based on computers, charts, focus groups and even the American language. Hell yes? Hell no!”

He added: “As President Clinton said: ‘It’s the economy stupid.’ And we were stupid not to defend it.

“The global recession was caused by the greed of bankers and only Gordon Brown’s rescue plan saved the banks and our economy from total global collapse.”

Chuka Umunna avoids declaring for Labour leadership as Mandelson appears to anoint future candidate

• Georgia Graham georgia.graham@itn.co.uk

The former shadow business secretary refused to be drawn on his plans for launching a leadership bid, although many tip him to challenge Yvette Cooper and Andy Burnham for the top job.

Writing a high profile and critical piece in today’s Observer did little to dampen the rumours, although asked directly he laughed rather heartily but didn’t really answer the question.

Instead he told Andrew Marr this morning: “You can change the leader but unless you get the message right we are not going to win.”

Lord Mandelson, the former Labour business secretary, was sitting next to him and was prepared to go a little further: “He’s a little way to go, but I think he’ll get there”, he said.

Riot police arrest 17 after scuffles at anti-austerity protest

Angry protests were held outside Downing Street as several hundred anti-austerity protesters gathered against the government.

Police said that the majority had been protesting peacefully, but a small minority was intent on causing disorder.

Seventeen people were arrested and four police officers injured.

The future of opinion polls

• Georgia Graham georgia.graham@itn.co.uk

Thursday was a nightmare for Labour, horrific for the Lib Dems and a shocker for the pollsters.

The fact that all the polls got it so wrong made the exit poll, taken of actual voters at 140 polling stations after they had cast their vote, a massive shock to everyone not least the party leaders.

Since Thursday there have been suggestions amongst commentators that polls have no place in the election if they fail so spectacularly to reflect the actual intentions of voters. 

Diane Abbott, the Labour MP, said that politics should think about banning them during the final weeks of the campaign. 

She told the Murnaghan show on Sky News: “We need to look at whether we should ban polls for the duration of the short campaign, they distorted people’s thinking”.

Tristram Hunt: Labour need to woo John Lewis shoppers

• Georgia Graham georgia.graham@itn.co.uk

He added that Labour need to show they are “also on the side of families who want to shop at John Lewis, go on holiday and get a new extension”.

In a bit of turnaround from his support for Labour’s policies such as the mansion tax he said that his party had failed to appeal to people who want to pass on their wealth to their children and get on in life.

Last year Mr Cameron got in hot water when he lavished praise on Waitrose, lauding customers of the upmarket store as more “talkative and engaged” than those who shop elsewhere.

But it appears that the John Lewis / Waitrose shopper could be the new Worcester woman for the Labour party.

Michael Gove back on the Conservative frontline as Justice Secretary

• Georgia Graham georgia.graham@itn.co.uk

David Cameron has quite a job on his hands – not only reshaping and rewarding loyal Tories with new jobs (or indeed their old jobs) in cabinet but also filling the 24 posts he was forced to hand to the Lib Dems for the 2010 coalition deal.

His most controversial appointment to date is Michael Gove to Justice Secretary. Mr Gove, who proved extremely unpopular with teachers when he served as Education Secretary, was demoted to chief whip in a reshuffle last year.

In his new job he will be in charge of prisons, sentencing and criminal justice and Nicky Morgan will stay on in the prestigious Education Secretary role.

Chris Grayling, the former justice secretary, becomes leader of the Commons.

Mark Harper, who was rehabilitated back in to Government last year after resigning his post when it emerged he employed an illegal immigrant while in post as immigration minister will become chief whip.

The PM, who secured the first Conservative majority since 1992, has already said his chancellor, home secretary, foreign secretary and defence secretary will stay the same.

Nicola Sturgeon: Scotland’s voice has to be heard in Westminster

Scottish National Party leader, Nicola Sturgeon, has vowed to continue to fight for proportional representation in government, despite admitting gaining a “stronger voice in Westminster” after the election.

Mandelson: Ed Miliband’s business strategy was “useless”

Lord Mandelson has lambasted Ed Miliband’s leadership of the Labour party, summarising his offering as “we’re for the poor, we hate the rich” and describing his business reasoning as “completely useless”.

“The awful, shocking thing about this election is Labour could have won it,” the Labour peer told the BBC. “Literally, we were sent out and told to say things and to make an argument – if you can call it an argument – which basically said, we’re for the poor, we hate the rich, ignoring completely the vast swathe of the population who exist in between.”

Lord Mandelson, who played a key role in orchestrating the New Labour operation under Tony Blair, paid tribute to Mr Miliband on a personal level, insisting he had “delivered a passionate and professional performance”. But he was less praiseworthy of his strategy for the party, after Labour was decimated at last Thursday’s election.

“The reason we lost it and lost it so badly is in 2010 we discarded New Labour, rather than revitalising it and re-energising it and making it relevant for the new times, the new policy challenges that we faced. That was a terrible mistake.”

He also laid into the Labour leader’s conference speech on “predator vs producer” businesses.  “I thought it was a completely useless label that led nowhere in any serious debate.”

Tom Watson reveals deputy leadership bid for Labour

Labour leftwinger Tom Watson has been tweeting about his campaign for the deputy leadership:

Diane Abbott: I’m surprised Chuka Umunna did not raise these issues

The Labour MP Diane Abbott has criticised Chuka Umunna for suggesting that Labour did not do enough for the aspiring middle classes.

Ms Abbott said of the shadow business secretary: “I’m surprised he didn’t raise these issues in cabinet at the time when it might have been possible to make a change to the strategy.”

She added: “We need more than a new face at the top. We need to look at our policies and how we engage with our communities up and down in the country and in Scotland.”

David Cameron interview: EU renegotiation is underway

• Matt Frei Presenter

In his first interview since being re-elected as Prime Minister, David Cameron tells Matt Frei that he already contacted European leaders to get the EU renegotiation process underway.

Mr Cameron said: “The first thing is to get the renegotiation going. We will be doing that soon. I’ve already made calls to European leaders. Then the referendum. I’m confident we’re going to get the right result.”

Read more here.

Labour’s quest to find a new leader

The Conservative shackles of a Lib Dem coalition are off, and David Cameron has a number of appointments to make before re-opening parliament on May 27th.

In the meantime, Labour’s quest to find their next leader has already started with a handful of candidates.

Cordelia Lynch reports:

Stephen Kinnock: ‘My heart goes out to Ed’

The son of former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, who suffered a similarly painful defeat against the Conservatives in the 1992 election, has said his “heart went out to Ed” Miliband after last Thursday’s result.

But Stephen Kinnock echoed the view of some senior members of the Labour party that its message next time around has to be more “aspirational” and “about reaching out to the business community”.

He told Matt Frei: “My sense is for any party to win from the left, it has to win with a positive message.”

Watch the interview below: