Top Labour figures from London today delivered a damning verdict on the state of their party, claiming it has lost touch with swathes of voters.
In a collection of essays they question whether the party is on the right track under Jeremy Corbyn and paint a gloomy picture of Labour’s future prospects. Jon Cruddas MP, a former policy advisor to Ed Miliband, says “Labour is in a state of political decay.”
An ex-candidate tells how “middle class Labourites scoffed” at working class views during the election, while a London MP urges her party to reach out to the suburbs.
The pamphlet, called “Labour’s Identity Crisis”, is edited by former Labour frontbencher Tristram Hunt MP, who has been at odds with Mr Corbyn’s leadership.
Dagenham and Rainham MP Mr Cruddas claims his party has “marched decisively away” from voters on issues key to winning elections.
The MP goes on: “Labour is out of step with the wider electorate and this divide is growing. Consequently, Labour is now as toxic in the south as the Tories are in the north.”
He launches an attack on claims made by Corybn supporters that Labour can win an election by attracting people who do not usually vote back into politics.
"Arguing Labour must focus on taking votes from the Tories and Ukip, he adds: “The fantastic recent growth in our membership and supporters does not change this.”
Suzy Stride, former Labour candidate for Harlow, tells how middle class activists brought in to campaign in her area found connecting with working class voters hard.
She tells how “middle class Labourites scoffed” at concerns over how immigration put pressure on services.
Claiming that working people’s interests have been replaced by “ideology”, she said: “Labour’s membership is growing wildly out of kilter with the people who we want to represent.”
In another essay, Ealing Central and Acton MP Rupa Huq says that Labour must find ways to connect with people in changing suburbs.
She writes: “Contemporary suburbs encapsulate continuity and change. Labour needs to develop the policies and narrative that allow it to seize this ground, as this is where elections now will be won and lost.”
