Tristram Hunt out of Labour leadership race

Most Labour MPs already know who they want as leader, according to Tristram Hunt, who has just announced he would not be standing.

In a speech setting out his vision for the party, he admitted he hadn't been able to drum up enough support for his own bid

"Like other potential candidates in recent days I have made a lot of calls to potential supporters among my parliamentary colleagues. I found that the bulk of MPs are already committed to just a couple of candidates," he said.

"It is surprising that the nomination process to select a leader for at least the next five years appears to have been largely decided within at most five days of a devastating general election defeat."

The MPs currently still in the race to become leader are Liz Kendall, Yvette Cooper, Andy Burnham, and Mary Creagh.

Tristram Hunt has announced that he will not stand in the forthcoming Labour leadership election.

In a speech, the MP for Stoke said he would be backing Liz Kendall for the leader's role instead.

He also strongly criticised the party's strategy at the general election, claiming Labour's welfare policies "offended the British people's sense of fairness".

Prospective Labour leader Yvette Cooper has criticised Ed Miliband for alienating business with a stance that appears to "knock down" wealth creators.

Ms Cooper distanced herself from several of Ed Miliband's business policies, saying Labour was perceived as being "anti-growth and ultimately anti-worker", the BBC has reported.

The Shadow Home Secretary is seeking to position herself as a pro-business candidate as the campaign for Labour leader begins to heat up.

Labour knew it was behind in the polls since last year, an internal pollster has revealed.

James Morris, who worked for Labour from when Ed Miliband was elected leader in 2010 until the election, said public polling showed a much more favourable position than the party's internal data, both in the run-up to and during the campaign.

He told the BBC's Newsnight: "Throughout that time, the Labour party knew it was starting in a much more troublesome place than the public polls made it appear.

On Monday Harriet Harman told the party's MPs: "We have got to look deep in our souls, but we shouldn't open our veins."

More: Harriet Harman: 'No snap answer' for Labour's election defeat

Shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt has told ITV that voters simply "didn't trust Labour" to deliver on social justice values when it came to election day.

Speaking on The Agenda, to be broadcast at 10.45pm, Mr Hunt also revealed he had yet to reach a decision on whether to run for Labour leadership after Ed Miliband resigned.

He said he wanted to see "everyone who loves the Labour party" to get involved in returning them to power, including David Miliband, Tony Blair and John Prescott, adding: "We are in a real hole".

The Miliband pipped to the post for the leadership of the Labour Party has savaged his brother's failed bid for national power. David Miliband said Ed's vision lacked ambition and aspiration. He said his brother - like Gordon Brown before him - had drifted back to Labour's pre-Blair days.

ITV News political correspondent Libby Weiner reports:

Former senior Labour politician David Miliband has criticised his brother Ed's general election campaign - but ruled himself out of running for Labour leader.

Speaking from New York, where he runs the International Rescue Committee charity, he also slammed his brother's critics for what he said were "unpleasant and unfair" personal attacks.

In an interview with the BBC, he said while the result of the election was "devastating", it was clear that people "didn't want" what the Labour party was offering.

David Lammy has confirmed that he will not be standing for the Labour leadership position, citing the fact that he wants to focus on his bid to become London mayor instead.

Speaking on BBC2's Daily Politics show he said: "I am not going to be standing for the Labour leadership because I think we need a leader that can win back the Midlands and understand Scotland, as well as the South.

"My strengths are in London and the South and therefore I want to be the Labour candidate for mayor."

On Saturday the Tottenham MP had told ITV News he would consider running for the job of Labour party leader if he was asked to "step up" by colleagues.

Acting Labour leader Harriet Harman has said there is "not a snap answer" as to why her party lost the General Election last Thursday.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Ms Harman said: "The truth is there's not a snap answer.

"We have to do some serious thinking and I actually welcome everybody's contribution into the debate but I'm not going to sit here as leader now and proclaim that's what the answer is because it would be pretty odd not to have actually said that a week before."

During the interview Harman also confirmed an analysis had been commissioned into what went wrong for the Labour party during the campaign.

Labour's Tristram Hunt will appear on the final episode of this series of The Agenda tonight.

Mr Hunt will speak to Tom Bradby about how Labour can recover following last week's general election defeat.

The shadow education secretary may also discuss his own leadership ambitions as speculation over Ed Miliband's potential successor continues.

Viewers can follow @agendaitv and #theagenda for all the key quotes and moments from tonight's programme.