A Review Of Why Labour Lost The Last Election

[Orderlimit]

What do you think of the review of why Labour lost the election?

Labour 'in denial' about record warns election study

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-35402815

The study, conducted by Gordon Brown's ex-pollster Deborah Mattinson, suggests voters believe Labour is "in denial" about its "appalling" economic record.

It says Scots who voted SNP in 2015 see Labour as "indistinguishable from the Conservatives - just less competent". and so on.

[mrblear]

Labour believes in a 'fair society'. This means confiscating money from working people and handing it out to their non-working neighbours to make them equal. Perhaps the workers thought, 'sod this for a game of soldiers'?

[Ninefingers]

Labour will be lucky to hold onto ANY constituency seats in May, just as well for them that Proportional Representation exists

[EDDIE51]

I totally agree with 'Labour being indistinguishable from the Conservatives'
I also see that as the reason why Jeremy Corbyn has become leader of the Labour party. A majority of sitting Labour MPs were elected under 'Blairite' Labour and so are just Tories in disguise. No wonder they hate Corbyn !!!
Their problem is that a huge majority of the actual members of the Labour party do not share their view and see Corbyn as a Godsend , who potentially offers a true 'socialist alternative' !
Please feel free to' shoot me down in flames'

[Orderlimit]

I'm no expert Ed, but I tend to agree the two are /were indistinguishable

[Togo]

As ever if the answer was 'wrong' Labour insist it must have been the wrong question.

[Orderlimit]

^ Speaking on Sunday, Ms Mattinson told the BBC she was "very concerned" that lessons from the election would not be learned and was "somewhat disappointed" that her research was not more fully reflected in the Beckett report.

[ichkeria]

Labour lost in Scotland for very different reasons to those it lost in England.

Politically the two countries are chalk and cheese.
That's a big problem for Labour. In Scotland there's probably no sensible response other than plugging away until the SNP mess things up. The problem with that is that as long as there's a Tory govt at Westminster it's easier for the SNP to portray Westminster unfavourably. And unless and until Corbyn shuffles off there's little prospect of anything other than a Tory at No 10. So it may take a while

[Old_Geezer]

The comment you attribute to the SNP is half right. But competency isn't the issue. If there seems no real option folk stick with the status quo that they know and are comfortably dissatisfied with.

[andy-hughes]

I agree with Dame Margaret that the reasons Labour lost are more complex than may first appear.

However, the most obvious aspect, clear to anyone with eyes and ears, is that Ed Milliband was a massive part of the reason why Labour lost.

I believe that the majority of the electorate ignore the minutia of policies and promises, and simply decide if they like the party leader or not.

In this case of Milliband, he was a public-face disaster for Labour, he we was inarticulate, odd, geeky, inarticulate, frightened, unconvincing, clumsy ... the list goes on, but any of them make him unattractive, and all of them make him toxic.

And this time - again regardless of policies, Labour have managed to re-incarnate Michael Foot, a principled fair man, but you wouldn't trust him to walk your dog round the block.

[douglas9401]

If the thought is that it was the appearance of one Miliband brother which was instrumental in the downfall of Labour, don't forget that the other one does a damned good impression of a recently barbered chimp.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02661/cringe-milliband-b_2661184b.jpg

[Gromit]

Miliband was the problem.
Labour failed to elect a Tory as its leader.
As a consequence, the media moguls all backed Cameron and their newspapers slaughted Miliband.
That is not to say Miliband was any good and just undone by rich Tories. Miliband was awful so it was easy for the Mail, Telegraph, Express to crucify him.