Batley & Spen has to be a turning point for Labour: 1/ The party is learning to fight elections, not just count votes; it picked a good candidate and targeted the issues that can reunite Labour's coalition... newstatesman.com/politics/2021/…
2/ So Labour's GOTV operation today is crucial. But the forces of fragmentation are strong - and Labour is fighting as a divided party, with the left excluded from the Shadow Cabinet and Corbyn from the PLP... newstatesman.com/politics/2021/…
3/ So today is an uphill battle - with 6,000 pro-Brexit independent votes up for grabs and Galloway's campaigners spreading fear and division... newstatesman.com/politics/2021/…
4/ After Batley, here's what has to happen: Labour needs a strategy, not just a new strategist, and it needs to execute that strategy with the left as part of the team...newstatesman.com/politics/2021/…
5/ We need the left back in the Shadow Cabinet, Corbyn back in the PLP, a swift policy review so that the September conference can ratify a radical economic offer - and CLPs pick candidates who will fight for it newstatesman.com/politics/2021/…
6/ The bottom line remains: either we unite the party as a broad coalition representing all the demographics social-democracy needs in order to win, or we go for the Progressive Alliance strategy ... newstatesman.com/politics/2021/…
7/ Fundamentally, Labour remains trapped in "labourism" - the delusion that voters concern with values, identity and culture will go away if we talk hard enough about economics and inequality ... newstatesman.com/politics/2021/…
8/ We're in a class struggle and a cultural war. You don't win every battle. The overall conflict is fluid; dramatic breakthroughs are possible. What I want from a leadership is some sign that it is learning and has a strategy to win. newstatesman.com/politics/2021/…
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