The government has yet to make a real difference because it has only "tinkered" with social problems, Peter Mandelson has said.

In an updated version of his book, "The Blair revolution", serialised in the Guardian, the former cabinet minister argues that the government must renew itself by promoting its commitment to equality.

The architect of new Labour also criticises the spin machine that he is often credited for creating.

Mandelson says: "New Labour's spin machine went into action and, having promised less than we thought we could do, we started hyping more than we were actually achieving."

"Too many of the worst and deprived communities remain unchanged by five years of Labour," he writes.

Reputation

He also says the government faces the contradictory criticisms of being guilty of "control-freakery" and of being "addicted to being loved by everyone [which] makes the government seem weak".

"And its timidity (in the first term rather than since the re-election), given the majority it has, annoys those people who think the government could and should be making a speedier and more direct impact."

He says that even in the most deprived areas, Labour has made a difference to people's lives, but he adds that such neighbourhoods "remain blighted".

"For all the action zones, new deals and strategic partnerships that have sprouted since 1997, too many of the worst estates and deprived communities remain unchanged - bleak ghettos depressing the spirits of all who live in them, dominated by the fear of crime and racial tension, too often becoming centres of danger and desperation."

Impact

Mandelson also argues that New Labour has had a lasting impact on the political landscape of Britain.

"It should not be forgotten how far Labour had fallen in the public's estimation. In the 1983 general election, Labour suffered its worst defeat since 1918, when it won only 28 per cent of the popular vote.

"Fifteen years later, the old dichotomy between 'cruel but efficient' Tories and 'caring but incompetent' Labour has been destroyed. In the process, social democracy as a political philosophy has been reinstated as the expression of most people's values in Britain," he writes.

He adds that the government most sizeable achievement is to have "changed completely the terms of debate about public service investment and reform".

Mandelson also accepts the blame for the "false and damaging" idea that the millennium dome embodied Labour's vision of a modern Britain.