Labour underdogs can win, says Mandelson

Business Secretary Peter Mandelson has acknowledged that Labour will be "underdogs" at the next election, but insisted the party will win thanks to Gordon Brown's experienced leadership.

Lord Mandelson told Labour conference delegates: "If we show the British people that we have not lost the fighting spirit and appetite for change... then we can win and will win."

He also announced that an extra 100,000 cars and vans would be covered by a £300 million extension of the scrappage scheme, under which motorists receive a £2,000 discount to trade in cars more than 10 years old for new models.

Lord Mandelson said there were encouraging signs that the economy was picking up, but cautioned: "But recovery remains fragile and uncertain, especially in manufacturing and one of its cornerstones, the car industry."

He said the real choice facing voters in the forthcoming election would be between the "experience and change" of Gordon Brown's leadership or "the shallowness of David Cameron".

He said Labour needed to fight back and think "like insurgents, not incumbents".