As we enter an inevitable general election campaign, whenever it comes, I’m happy to take up the challenge Lord Mandelson has set Labour in a piece for Red Box and explain our approach to democratising public services and to correct a few misunderstandings in his otherwise interesting analysis.

At the heart of New Labour’s shortcomings was a lack of faith in people. In contrast, I have made it clear in announcement after announcement that public ownership for Labour today means control by consumers, passengers, workers and the community, rather than by bureaucrats in Whitehall or — as at present — in the boardroom.

Imagining a world in which communities manage their own services may be difficult given the radical break this entails from the present