Thread by @GoodwinMJ

Many Labour members, MPs & some would-be Labour leaders would like the Labour Party to double down on liberalism -to be pro-EU, maybe Re-join, keep freedom of movement, frame any immigration reform as 'racist', seek no compromise with the Red Wall

Here's why that is problematic

You are preaching to the choir. Many voters who would find this strategy appealing tend to live in the same types of areas: London, big cities, university towns. Areas that Labour *already hold*

Take support for Remain as a proxy for that more liberal outlook. What few in Twitter Land bothered to tell Labour ahead of the last election, and while urging them to swing to a strongly pro-Remain position, is that the geography left after 2017 didnt stack up for this strategy

There wasnt enough space for growth in Remainia not only because the Leave vote was distributed more efficiently than Remain but also because Labour already held much of this territory

And that remains true today. Look at the 231-ish Remain seats and Labour already hold nearly half of them. Strip out Scotland and Labour hold more than half. Drill down into the most strongly liberal seats and the Conservatives hold about a dozen.

Meanwhile, there are a few dozen more pro-Leave Labour seats that have just fallen into "marginal" status. While in Wales Labour was only saved from even more losses last month by the efficiency of its vote I.e. historic majorities.

In other words, things could still get a lot, lot worse in Leave Land. Wiping out the few gains that might be made in Remainia.

So while I understand the temptation in Labour to listen only to members and Twitter Land and throw on the comfort blankets, preaching to the choir, it is time to get real.

You will need to compromise.

p.s. dont surround yourself with people who tell you what you want to hear