Modern tribes: the Labour leader contender
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Version 0 of 1. For me, one of the big challenges for Labour after that defeat, and make no mistake, it was a terrible, massive defeat, will be getting outside Westminster and winning back the trust of people who shop at Waitrose. Not just the ones who want the free coffees. Because Labour only win when they reach out to people who didn’t vote for them. That’s why the mansion tax sent out all the wrong messages. Same with the referendum. And immigration. The bedroom tax. Russell Brand. And yes, the stone. But mainly we forgot about aspiration. Something that used to be at the very heart of the soul of our vision. Did I say this at the time? No, I have never been about factional politics. Privately, I thought Ed was wrong about absolutely everything. Labour needs a leader whose voice can carry into all the nations and regions of the UK, that’s why Watford Gap services seemed the right place for me to come and explain why I think I can do better than someone who has to be dragged kicking and screaming out of Primrose Hill. I like football. My mum is working class. Don’t get me wrong, Ed’s a friend. Even though I didn’t vote for him and thought his message was catastrophically narrow and negative. Am I proud of my party? Desperately. But did Labour make a terrible mistake last time by not choosing someone from an aspirational background who looks like they might vote Tory? Of course. Let me be clear: I can’t stand Gordon Brown. Because let’s face facts: Labour spent too much. That was before my time. Blairism is over. If the Labour party is ever to recover from this tragic defeat it needs to be led by someone with a Boden account and a season ticket. I say we have to get back to our roots, and that means looking to the future, thinking about where we went wrong, and deciding what the country would like us to do instead. The next Labour leader needs a clear message of hope, and I am in politics to find one. |