Miliband: I'll Support New Labour Leader 100%

Ed Miliband has made it clear he won't take sides in the Labour leadership contest.

In an exclusive interview with Sky News the former Labour leader said: "It's not my place to either commentate on decisions which the party is making or commentate on the Labour leadership election."

Quizzed about those who criticised his own leadership he said: "That's their prerogative."

But he insisted whoever won the contest would have his full support.

Liz Kendall, for example, has accused Mr Miliband of leading the party in the wrong direction, branding her rivals as "continuity Miliband".

But Mr Miliband insisted: "I think the party needs space to have this debate ... When a party has lost a general election there is a debate and people have different views.

"The right thing to do is to let the party have that debate, to chose a new leader and whoever that new leader is I will support them 100%."

It's just over two months since he lost the general election and this is his first national television interview.

Mr Miliband also attacked George Osborne's "regressive" budget for punishing the poor.

He said: "I think the shine has worn off the budget in record time frankly, because 48 hours later we now know this is a budget that hits the poorest not the richest."

"It is not a one nation budget, it is a regressive budget and for all the welcome rise in the minimum wage that is more than off-set by the cuts to tax credits."

Since resigning, the Doncaster North MP has moved to the back benches, but is now fighting the Conservatives on local issues, including the closure of a 100-year-old coal mine in his constituency.

The Government has refused to extend funding to Hatfield colliery because it said a lack of orders meant it was no longer economically viable.

It had been due to stay open until August 2016, but without extra funds it had to stop producing coal a year early.

Mr Miliband accused the Government of disregarding the "human cost" of the closure.

He said: "The reality is this Government has pulled the rug from under it a year early, but refusing to give it anymore aid.

"I think that actually would have been economically viable for the Government, because more money would have come back in taxation and VAT and other revenues."

Hatfield is one of the last three deep mines in the country - all of which will be closed by the end of the year.

In response to Mr Miliband's concerns, Business Minister Anna Soubry said: "We’ve been working closely with the company throughout this difficult time, doing all we can to help.

"That has included providing up to £20m to support the company’s managed closure plan.

"Hatfield's directors have however taken the decision to close the mine because it could not sell enough coal at the price needed to keep it operational."

Mr Miliband says the management had asked for a £12m extension, which would have returned more than that in tax receipts.

John Grogan, chair of the Hatfield Colliery, has confirmed this to Sky News, saying the Government refused to extend the loan despite the company lining up contracts to sell more than half their coal.

The decision means over 400 people have lost their jobs.

Mr Miliband said: "There is a human cost here and it has not been factored in."

It is clear the former Labour leader isn't going to completely step out of the political limelight - but by pushing against the decline in Britain's coal industry - he might once again have picked a losing battle.