New leader. New Labour?

I would like to congratulate Ed Miliband on his election as Leader of the Labour Party.

But the closeness of his victory- only made possible by the strong support of the trade unions- raises questions about whether he really has a strong enough mandate to deliver change for his party. If he now focuses on repaying the unions for their support, ditching New Labour and lurching to the left, then he will take the Labour Party on a huge backward leap. He also has to prove to the country how he can be the solution to our economic and social problems, when he was part of the team that got us into this mess, and one of the few members of the Cabinet who appeared to support Gordon Brown.

His election yesterday begs lots of questions. How he answers them over the coming months will determine whether the centre ground of British politics is a lonely place.