Thread by @syrpis

My corner of twitter seems to be dominated by the internal Labour party debate between supporters of Corbyn and Starmer. I agree fully with @sturdyAlex that it is not a productive use of anyone's time.

Here though are 2 things Labour party supporters *should* be doing. 1/7

1. They should be striving to understand *why* a large % of voters (in Hartlepool and elsewhere) are still supporting Boris Johnson's government, and *what* might make them change their vote. 2/7

2. They should be thinking not only about vote shares, but also about vote distribution, and how they can *win* elections. If Johnson's vote is at c 35-45%, and is 'sticky', how can he be beaten? 3/7

There will, of course, be disagreements on these questions. But it seems clear that a lot depends on building a narrative not about Labour, but about the Govt, and how it is failing people. (And on that, the various strands of Labour can, hopefully, agree.) 4/7

The rest involves building credibility, and fashioning a message that has sufficiently broad appeal (both to Labour's 'base' and to Tory voters who become disillusioned with Johnson's Govt). 5/7

That is more difficult terrain, and one can expect disagreement. But, at this stage, detail doesn't matter. There just needs to be a coherent narrative about what Labour stands for - (perhaps) equality, community, diversity and internationalism. 6/7

My worry is that the debate is too much about personalities, and too much about specific issues on which there are real differences.

I don't think that the Tories can believe their luck. 7/7