Labour MPs concerned about the direction of Tony Blair's second term today launched a new organisation to steer No 10's consultation exercise in a leftward direction.

The New Wave group's 15 founders want the government to oppose "neo-colonial US adventures", recognise that "market forces don't give us all the answers" when it comes to reforming the public services and strengthen its links with the trade union movement.

The group's significance, however, lies not in its demands - which are familiar from most leftwing critics of the government - but in its membership, which is made up of traditionally loyal Labour MPs not the so-called "usual suspects" of rebel backbenchers.

Its members - including Mr Blair's former deputy political secretary, Jon Cruddas, and former Home Office minister Angela Eagle - represent a broad cross-section of the parliamentary Labour party; containing both supporters and opponents of foundation hospitals and the war in Iraq; the two touchstone issues of the last parliament.

The group plans to influence No 10's consultation process, which starts this Friday, by issuing pamphlets, organising seminars and exploring the possibilities of online democracy.

Ms Eagle told Guardian Unlimited: "We're very interested in what people like Howard Dean (www.deanforamerica.com) and websites like MoveOn have been doing in the United States to increase democratic participation via the internet.

"We plan to use our website to encourage and enable people within the Labour movement to participate in the government's consultation exercise."

Ms Eagle is also authoring the group's first publication, a pamphlet jointly published with the Catalyst thinktank, about the future of democratic socialism. It is expected to detail its members' reservations about the government's market-driven reform of the public services.

No 10 is, however, more likely to be concerned about the group's intention to link up with the trade unions, many of which are now led by a new generation of "awkward" leaders opposed to the government's direction.

Mr Cruddas, who used to "fix" the unions' block votes for Mr Blair when he worked in Downing Street, and Kevan Jones, another of the group's founders who was a political officer for the GMB union, are formidable organisers.

The group's website describes Labour's links with the trade unions as "vital" and called on the government to work more closely with forward thinking workforces.

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003

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