Ed Miliband urged to bring back ‘grown-ups’ to Labour front bench

Move could help counter claims made by ministers that economic crisis was caused by previous Labour government

Labour leader Ed Miliband; former minister Chris Mullin (Getty Images; Rex Features)

Ed Miliband has been urged to bring some of the “grown-ups” back to Labour’s front bench to help counter the claims made by ministers that the economic crisis was caused by the previous Labour government.

Chris Mullin, a former minister in the Blair government, exhorted Mr Miliband to counter the “big lie” that the Coalition Government inherited an economic left by Labour.

He said that the “only thing” for which Labour should apologise was that the party did not regulate the banks enough – but it could not be criticised for that by the Conservatives, who believe in less regulation.

He suggested recalling to the Shadow Cabinet big names such as Alan Johnson, who was Ed Miliband’s original choice for the job of shadow chancellor, but reisgned in 2011 for personal reasons, or the former chancellor Alistair Darling, who has kept out of UK politics to concentrate on winning a “No” vote in Scotland’s upcoming independence referendum.

“Without doubt they have got a big hill to climb, especially now the economy is back into growth and an economic miracle is being declared,” Mr Mullin told Radio 4’s World at One programme. “Personally I would bring back some of the grown-ups.”

Meanwhile, Tony Blair’s former communications chief Alastair Campbell claimed on his blog that the UK is “the only country in the world whose politics has somehow conspired to pile the blame for the crisis not on those who caused it but on those who led the world in solving it. Labour have played into Tory hands on this.”