By . Jason Groves, Chief Political Correspondent . PUBLISHED: . 12:46 EST, 21 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:35 EST, 22 August 2013 . Ed Miliband was told to look in the mirror and ask whether the 'electorate ever assent to me being Prime Minister?' Ed Miliband should consider resigning for the sake of the Labour Party, a senior Blairite warned yesterday. Brian Wilson, who served as energy minister under Tony Blair, said the Labour leader had a duty to 'look in the mirror and honestly answer the question: 'Will the electorate ever assent to me being Prime Minister?' Mr Wilson, who held a number of other senior roles, said opinion poll findings on Mr Miliband's personal popularity were 'somewhere between dire and disappointing'. He said Labour could not afford to follow Mr Miliband 'lemming like' to defeat, as it had with Michael Foot and Gordon Brown. In . a further blow, Mr Miliband came under fire from one of his own . frontbench team over his failure to 'do more' to make the positive case . for immigration. Shadow . public health minister Diane Abbott suggested Mr Miliband privately . supported immigration and had his 'heart in the right place'. But she . said he was too swayed by opinion polls on the issue showing that the . open door approach of the last Labour government was now deeply . unpopular. She said 'What weighs with him is the polling which shows what the Tories are doing on immigration is popular and it certainly weighs on other members of the shadow cabinet.' Mr Wilson joins a chorus of despair from senior Labour figures about Mr Miliband's performance as party leader. Writing in the Scotsman, he said there was no shame in leaders accepting they were not up to the job. He pointed out that both William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith had gone on to high office after putting in dismal performances as party leaders. Bad day: Ed Milliband found himself under attack from former energy secretary Brian Wilson who described his personal popularity as 'somewhere between dire and disappointing' No More: Mr Wilson claims the party cannot afford to follow 'lemming like' behind another failing leader who will lose the election as they did with Gordon Brown and Michael Foot, right . 'Giving leadership a decent shot and then getting out does not necessarily mean the end of a political career - a consideration that should make it easier for future doomed leaders to consider their options,' he said. 'He must look in the mirror and honestly answer the question: Will the electorate ever assent to me being Prime Minister?' Ex-energy minister Brian Wilson yesterday . He backed growing calls for Mr Miliband to bring back heavyweight figures such as former Chancellor Alistair Darling and former Home Secretary Alan Johnson. He added: 'Of course, there is a risk in that for Miliband because it is possible that he would not shine as leaders should in the company of their colleagues. But there is a bigger risk in ploughing on as before with a lightweight team that appears to hop from one opportunist issue to the next, has failed to develop a strong, appealing narrative and is hanging on to a poll lead that could be blown away by the first whiff of electoral grapeshot.' Mr Wilson said Mr Miliband was 'not yet' at the point reached by Michael Foot where defeat is inevitable. But he suggested Labour should be more ruthless than in the past if his performance continues to disappoint and he refuses to stand aside. He added: 'Labour has a dismal record of indecisiveness even when all common sense suggests that its leader is not going to make it past the winning post. Partly, this is due to the unwieldiness of its internal machinery while kindness and loyalty are also significant factors, though the true kindness would sometimes be to act rather than acquiesce.' Mr Wilson also criticised Mr Miliband . for his failure to defend the record of the last Labour government, . adding: 'Miliband and his unattractive shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, have . spent far too much of the past two years apologising for the record . rather than defending it, which is the prerequisite for offering a . credible alternative.' The . criticism comes as a senior member of the shadow cabinet admits that a . u-turn over the universal credit reforms may feature on their election . manifesto. Former leader hopeful Diane Abbott also challenged Miliband today saying that he is too swayed by opinion polls when forming his policies . In a speech in North London today, shadow . work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne launched stinging . attacks at Iain Duncan Smith for not implementing the plans better, . claiming there 'seems to be something very wrong in the mind' of the the . Work and Pensions Secretary. But having vehemently opposed the changes to the benefits system he says his party now wants to work with the Government to turn around the universal credit reforms and 'hopes' to run at the next general election pledging to keep the new system. He said he would be writing to Mr Duncan Smith urging him to convene cross party talks with civil servants to save the flagship universal credit reforms from becoming a 'sinking ship.' But despite his criticism when asked if he now wanted the policy to succeed he agreed, saying:'I hope so, I sincerely hope so, but right now we have had so much dissembling we don’t know what is going on. 'If we’re going to get things . straight, the first step is to put the cards on the table, tell us what . is going wrong and perhaps we can work together.' But . Mr Byrne added that despite his criticism his own party, should they . win the next election, would also implement a scheme of benefit reform. In . a speech to the mentoring charity Chance UK he described his rival . reforms as 'tackling the long-term drivers of spending', insisting . Labour’s plans would be based on the twin principles of the 'care ethic' and the 'work ethic.' Labour's Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liam Byrne claims that if the party won the next election he would launch their own version of the much condemned benefits change . But his claims were dismissed by the opposition with Mr Duncan Smith’s spokeswoman said Mr Byrne’s figures were 'nonsense.' She said: 'This is a last-ditch attempt by Liam Byrne to keep his job in the shadow cabinet.Nothing more. 'His talk of wasted money is frankly laughable when you consider Labour have voted against £83 billion-worth of savings to the welfare budget. 'Labour is panicking - after a summer of discontent, here is yet another disastrous speech, void of any ideas. 'Same old Labour is in the wrong place on welfare. 'They want people on benefits to make more money than the average hard-working family earns. 'They want unlimited amounts of benefits to be a basic human right. 'Labour have even gone as far as to ban the word ‘welfare’ in the hopes we all forget they are the Welfare Party. 'The taxpayer supports what we’re doing on welfare and Ed Miliband has got it wrong yet again.Universal credit is intended to roll six current benefits - including jobseeker’s allowance, working tax credits and housing benefit - into a single monthly payment and is currently being piloted. Labour sources yesterday dismissed Mr Wilson's criticism and said Mr Miliband was focusing on getting the party's message across at next month's party conference.
Brian Wilson says Labour leader needs to look at himself 'honestly'
Calls his personal popularity 'somewhere between dire and disappointing'
Claims that under Miliband the part has 'a dismal record of indecisiveness'
And the he and 'unnattractive' Ed Balls have spent too much time apologising for the previous governments and not enough defending it .
By . Jason Groves, Chief Political Correspondent . PUBLISHED: . 12:46 EST, 21 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:35 EST, 22 August 2013 . Ed Miliband was told to look in the mirror and ask whether the 'electorate ever assent to me being Prime Minister?' Ed Miliband should consider resigning for the sake of the Labour Party, a senior Blairite warned yesterday. Brian Wilson, who served as energy minister under Tony Blair, said the Labour leader had a duty to 'look in the mirror and honestly answer the question: 'Will the electorate ever assent to me being Prime Minister?' Mr Wilson, who held a number of other senior roles, said opinion poll findings on Mr Miliband's personal popularity were 'somewhere between dire and disappointing'. He said Labour could not afford to follow Mr Miliband 'lemming like' to defeat, as it had with Michael Foot and Gordon Brown. In . a further blow, Mr Miliband came under fire from one of his own . frontbench team over his failure to 'do more' to make the positive case . for immigration. Shadow . public health minister Diane Abbott suggested Mr Miliband privately . supported immigration and had his 'heart in the right place'. But she . said he was too swayed by opinion polls on the issue showing that the . open door approach of the last Labour government was now deeply . unpopular. She said 'What weighs with him is the polling which shows what the Tories are doing on immigration is popular and it certainly weighs on other members of the shadow cabinet.' Mr Wilson joins a chorus of despair from senior Labour figures about Mr Miliband's performance as party leader. Writing in the Scotsman, he said there was no shame in leaders accepting they were not up to the job. He pointed out that both William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith had gone on to high office after putting in dismal performances as party leaders. Bad day: Ed Milliband found himself under attack from former energy secretary Brian Wilson who described his personal popularity as 'somewhere between dire and disappointing' No More: Mr Wilson claims the party cannot afford to follow 'lemming like' behind another failing leader who will lose the election as they did with Gordon Brown and Michael Foot, right . 'Giving leadership a decent shot and then getting out does not necessarily mean the end of a political career - a consideration that should make it easier for future doomed leaders to consider their options,' he said. 'He must look in the mirror and honestly answer the question: Will the electorate ever assent to me being Prime Minister?' Ex-energy minister Brian Wilson yesterday . He backed growing calls for Mr Miliband to bring back heavyweight figures such as former Chancellor Alistair Darling and former Home Secretary Alan Johnson. He added: 'Of course, there is a risk in that for Miliband because it is possible that he would not shine as leaders should in the company of their colleagues. But there is a bigger risk in ploughing on as before with a lightweight team that appears to hop from one opportunist issue to the next, has failed to develop a strong, appealing narrative and is hanging on to a poll lead that could be blown away by the first whiff of electoral grapeshot.' Mr Wilson said Mr Miliband was 'not yet' at the point reached by Michael Foot where defeat is inevitable. But he suggested Labour should be more ruthless than in the past if his performance continues to disappoint and he refuses to stand aside. He added: 'Labour has a dismal record of indecisiveness even when all common sense suggests that its leader is not going to make it past the winning post. Partly, this is due to the unwieldiness of its internal machinery while kindness and loyalty are also significant factors, though the true kindness would sometimes be to act rather than acquiesce.' Mr Wilson also criticised Mr Miliband . for his failure to defend the record of the last Labour government, . adding: 'Miliband and his unattractive shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, have . spent far too much of the past two years apologising for the record . rather than defending it, which is the prerequisite for offering a . credible alternative.' The . criticism comes as a senior member of the shadow cabinet admits that a . u-turn over the universal credit reforms may feature on their election . manifesto. Former leader hopeful Diane Abbott also challenged Miliband today saying that he is too swayed by opinion polls when forming his policies . In a speech in North London today, shadow . work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne launched stinging . attacks at Iain Duncan Smith for not implementing the plans better, . claiming there 'seems to be something very wrong in the mind' of the the . Work and Pensions Secretary. But having vehemently opposed the changes to the benefits system he says his party now wants to work with the Government to turn around the universal credit reforms and 'hopes' to run at the next general election pledging to keep the new system. He said he would be writing to Mr Duncan Smith urging him to convene cross party talks with civil servants to save the flagship universal credit reforms from becoming a 'sinking ship.' But despite his criticism when asked if he now wanted the policy to succeed he agreed, saying:'I hope so, I sincerely hope so, but right now we have had so much dissembling we don’t know what is going on. 'If we’re going to get things . straight, the first step is to put the cards on the table, tell us what . is going wrong and perhaps we can work together.' But . Mr Byrne added that despite his criticism his own party, should they . win the next election, would also implement a scheme of benefit reform. In . a speech to the mentoring charity Chance UK he described his rival . reforms as 'tackling the long-term drivers of spending', insisting . Labour’s plans would be based on the twin principles of the 'care ethic' and the 'work ethic.' Labour's Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liam Byrne claims that if the party won the next election he would launch their own version of the much condemned benefits change . But his claims were dismissed by the opposition with Mr Duncan Smith’s spokeswoman said Mr Byrne’s figures were 'nonsense.' She said: 'This is a last-ditch attempt by Liam Byrne to keep his job in the shadow cabinet.Nothing more. 'His talk of wasted money is frankly laughable when you consider Labour have voted against £83 billion-worth of savings to the welfare budget. 'Labour is panicking - after a summer of discontent, here is yet another disastrous speech, void of any ideas. 'Same old Labour is in the wrong place on welfare. 'They want people on benefits to make more money than the average hard-working family earns. 'They want unlimited amounts of benefits to be a basic human right. 'Labour have even gone as far as to ban the word ‘welfare’ in the hopes we all forget they are the Welfare Party. 'The taxpayer supports what we’re doing on welfare and Ed Miliband has got it wrong yet again.Universal credit is intended to roll six current benefits - including jobseeker’s allowance, working tax credits and housing benefit - into a single monthly payment and is currently being piloted. Labour sources yesterday dismissed Mr Wilson's criticism and said Mr Miliband was focusing on getting the party's message across at next month's party conference.
said the Labour leader had a duty to 'look in the between dire and disappointing'. He said Labour Brian Wilson who described his personal popularity as 'somewhere between dire and that for Miliband because it is possible that he added: 'Labour has a dismal record of chancellor, Ed Balls, have . spent far too much of the past two years apologising for the record