Responsibility for the Hartlepool catastrophe - and it is a catastrophe - belongs with the Labour leadership.
In 2015, Labour won 35.6% of the vote, less than 2019.
In 2017, Labour won 52.5%.
Even in the 2019 disaster, Labour won 37.7%.
In 2021, Labour won *28.7%*.
In 2015, Labour won 35.6% of the vote, less than 2019.
In 2017, Labour won 52.5%.
Even in the 2019 disaster, Labour won 37.7%.
In 2021, Labour won *28.7%*.
The argument "Labour only won because the Brexit Party split the vote in 2019" is completely disingenuous.
In 2015, UKIP won a higher share of the vote than the Brexit Party in 2019.
In 2017, many of those UKIP voters defected to Labour, hence Labour won over half the vote.
In 2015, UKIP won a higher share of the vote than the Brexit Party in 2019.
In 2017, many of those UKIP voters defected to Labour, hence Labour won over half the vote.
If people who voted UKIP in 2015 could vote Labour in 2017, why did Labour fail to win over Brexit Party voters in 2021 - especially given Brexit is no longer the main issue?
It gets worse - Labour has *lost* many of the people who voted for it during the 2019 disaster.
It gets worse - Labour has *lost* many of the people who voted for it during the 2019 disaster.
Is Labour partly the victim of long term trends? Absolutely. But given Labour in 2017 managed to reverse that trend in Hartlepool and winning the biggest majority since 2001, those trends are clearly not irreversible or inevitable.
It's not actually about whether Labour should be more "left wing". Most voters don't think in terms of "left" or "right". In 2017, Labour offered a vision that inspired millions. Was it enough to win? No, obviously. But it was clearly far more effective than the current approach.
Labour as things stand *is offering no vision whatsoever to the people of the country*. What reason is it given people to vote for them?
Meanwhile, the Tories have fused Brexit-inspired populist nationalism with strategic investment - it's getting a clear run with no alternative
Meanwhile, the Tories have fused Brexit-inspired populist nationalism with strategic investment - it's getting a clear run with no alternative
The Labour Right are now arguing that - even as Labour does far worse than Jeremy Corbyn ever managed - that the party needs to define itself against the left even more.
The Labour Right have no vision, no ideas, no popular policies. Their cupboard is completely bare.
The Labour Right have no vision, no ideas, no popular policies. Their cupboard is completely bare.
Labour has to offer a vision that inspires people to vote for it in a time of crisis. If Keir Starmer cannot offer that vision, then he needs to reconsider his position.
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