David Miliband: European left is fragmenting as the right is unifying

He said the parties were "fragmenting as the right is unifying". He named six countries – Britain, Sweden, Germany, France, Holland and Italy – that he said had a "good claim to represent the historic heartland of European social democracy", but that are no longer run by the centre-left.

In a speech to the London School of Economicson Tuesday, Miliband called for social democratic parties in those countries to try to regain ground by focusing on wealth creation and greater control of privatised utilities.

"Not since the first world war has there been this kind of domination from the right. The whole era of democratic suffrage," said Miliband.

He added: "Left parties are losing elections more comprehensively than ever before. They are losing from government and from opposition; they are losing in majoritarian systems and PR systems.

"Just for good measure, they are losing whatever position the party had on the Iraq war and they are fragmenting at just the time the right is uniting."

Read more from The Guardian...