Shadow health minister's comments makes it the second time recently that Ed Miliband has been criticised by a member of his top team

This article is more than 7 years old

This article is more than 7 years old

Diane Abbott, part of Ed Miliband's senior team, has accused Labour of being swayed by populist Tory attacks on immigration instead of standing up for diversity.

The shadow health minister said her boss "means well" but called on the party to do more to make the case in favour of immigration.

Her intervention is the second time in recent weeks Miliband has been implicitly criticised by a member of his own top team, after Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, called on Labour to "shout louder" about its policies.

Another senior Labour figure also launched a blisteringan attack on Miliband, saying he needs to "look in the mirror" and ask himself if the electorate will ever agree to him being prime minister.

Brian Wilson, who was a minister under Tony Blair, said Miliband has a "lightweight team" with poll ratings "somewhere between dire and disappointing".

Writing in the Scotsman, Wilson echoed calls for the Labour leader to bring back experienced politicians such as Alistair Darling and Alan Johnson, urging him not to "plough on as before" having failed to develop an appealing narrative.

Senior figures including Lord Prescott, the former deputy prime minister; Lord Glasman, a policy guru; David Blunkett, a former home secretary; andDarling, a former chancellor, have signalled they would like to see Labour setting out its message more clearly.

While many of Miliband's critics have expressed a general malaise about the party's lack of direction, Abbott takes issue with his particular approach to immigration.

Just days after Chris Bryant, a shadow immigration minister, hit out at big firms for taking on too many foreign workers, she raised concerns that Labour is joining a "downward spiral" of the political debate towards a tougher stance on the issue.

Speaking to Progress magazine, Abbott suggested that the Labour leader is being dragged to the right under pressure from the Conservatives.

"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," she said.

"I've spoken to Ed Miliband about this quite a bit. I know that, on this issue, Ed's heart is in the right place and he's trying hard to position us correctly."

However, she told the magazine that not enough Labour people at a senior level are making the case for immigration.

"Not that many members of the shadow cabinet represent a diverse London constituency and views about race and immigration are different once you step outside London if you think about it. So I think Ed himself means well and is doing his best but as a party we should do more because, it's what I said, it's a downward spiral."

Abbott also fuelled speculation that she may run as Labour's candidate for London mayor in 2016. The MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington said she is "enjoying the job I have and I obviously would want to be a public health minister in an Ed Miliband government" but "wouldn't rule out" trying to succeed Boris Johnson.

She said voters want a mayor who will "stand up" for diversity and multiculturalism, as well as "someone who's independent".

A Labour source dismissed the idea that Miliband should be worried about yet more criticism from his frontbench.

"Diane is making a point in a very Diane way," he said. "As the son of immigrants, Ed Miliband better than anyone recognises the positive impact that immigration has made to the UK. He also recognises that immigration can cause anxiety about public services, employment and wages."

Abbott's remarks were criticised by Nadhim Zahawi, a Tory MP, who said they showed "an apparent enthusiasm for illegal immigration".

"Her comments are a reminder of the immigration chaos we suffered under Labour," he added.