A report by the ‘Labour Together’ group has concluded that widespread concern about ‘weakness’; and ‘negative perceptions’ of Jeremy Corbyn led to the parties ‘terrible’ general election loss.
Labour Together
Labour together is a ‘network of committed labour party members’. The group includes shadow forign secretary Lisa Nandy and shadow justice secretary David Lammy.
Negative perceptions
The report states that ‘negative perceptions’ of Jeremy Corbyn were a ‘key reason’ Labour lost votes at the 2019 election. It lists Labour’s position on Brexit and a ‘lack of confidence’ that the party could deliver on the popular policy as reasons voters were ‘alienated’.
Scotland
In Scotland, Labours position on Brexit, the lack of confidence in Corbyn and the Parties opposition to the Scottish Independence led to the party only ‘appealing to a tiny proportion of the electorate’.
Digital Failures
The report criticizes the parties ‘digital’ failures stating that the parties online campaign ‘did not win over a wide enough range of voters’. The report said the parties online campaigns suffered a ‘general failure of integration and innovation’. The Conservative’s campaign innovation was also cited as a reason for the defeat; Boris Johnson’s Conservative campaign was run by Dominic Cummings and other ‘Vote Leave’ online campaigners. Labour’s found it impossible to win the online election war and lacked the campaign lacked the technical ability to gain any new ground.
Jeremy Corbyn : winner and loser
The report was scathing on Jeremy Corbyn citing a ‘widespread concern about his leadership of the Labour party; issues with his perceived weakness leading to potential voters (YouGov) doubting his ability as Prime Minister. The report states that Corbyn was very successful in winning over voters and party support in 2017; However, by 2019 Corbyn was considered a ‘key deterrent’ to Labour voters; with the controversy of Labour’s anti-Semitism and the party leaders perceived ‘far-left’ policies driving off voters.
Read the ‘Labour Together’ report into Labours 2019 general election loss here.
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